The Seven Year War :: Second Chances
by Melody Canta
Summary: :: Part Two in the Seven Year War Series :: It's the second day using the MASON system, and Apollo's ready to start taking on whatever seven years ago has to throw at him. But when things suddenly start getting personal for Kiria Nomura, things start getting dangerous both in the past and in the present.
1. Prologue: Second Chances

This is Part Two of the Seven Year War Chronicles.

Kiria, Yoshiya, and Mariko Nomura, Nathaniel Price, and any other character that is not part of Capcom's original series is of my own creation. Alternatively, any character from Capcom's original series is not mine, and I do not make any money off of this series.

FULL SUMMARY: It's the second day using the MASON system, and Apollo's ready to start taking on whatever seven years ago has to throw at him. But when things suddenly start getting personal for Kiria Nomura, things start getting dangerous both in the past and in the present.

Rated T for intense situations, violence, minor adult themes, language, and suicide.

Established Pairings: Phoenix/Maya

* * *

**Prologue :: Second Chances**

I was up by five in the morning. I'd dozed off sometime around two a.m., but I was awake after a few hours of nightmares. No matter what I did, I couldn't get Kiria Nomura out of my head. She permeated every cavity in my brain, declaring an objection whenever I dared to think of something else.

What had I gotten myself into?

When I sat down at my computer, I tried to convince myself that it was concern for my life that had me pulling up a search engine and typing her name in. I took a few breaths, staring at the text, my finger poised over the 'Enter' key, but I couldn't bring myself to press it. I suddenly remembered Mr. Edgeworth's face when he'd told Mr. Wright that he was instilling a bias in me. Would I gain a bias from a mere Google search? I tried to convince myself not, but my finger still wouldn't move.

I left the window up, moving around my apartment to make coffee and take a shower, but when I came back a full hour and a half later, I still couldn't do it. I couldn't push the button.

Needless to say, three hours of sleep and an unsolved mystery left me in a foul mood.

I drove around town aimlessly, cursing gas prices, before I found myself stopped in front of an apartment building. Namely, Kiria Nomura's old apartment building. It was tall and pristine, with metal balconies adorned with lawn chairs and tables. Kiria Nomura had lived on the top floor, I remembered. I got out of the car, peering up at the top balcony. It had the same chairs and tables. It was like it had been seven years ago, when she had lived there.

Of course, someone else was probably living there now. Death—or disappearance, as Maya predicted—did not stop leasing from happening. But even so, it was spooky, standing in the same place where she had undoubtedly stood, shielding her eyes from the sun as she evaluated the building as a potential home. It evoked a shiver down my spine, the same one as I would undoubtedly feel when I entered her old office again today and was transported back into her memories.

I took one more long look at the building before getting back into my car and driving to the office.

* * *

I arrived at work fifteen minutes early, even with my early morning detour. "Good morning, Polly!" Trucy greeted cheerfully. Her hands were clasped around a mug that I deduced from the color must have held hot cocoa or coffee with a ridiculous amount of cream and sugar in it.

I poured myself a cup of coffee from the carafe. "Good morning, Trucy. How did you sleep?"

"Great!" She giggled. "Pearly and I had a sleepover!"

For any other teenage girl, this might not have been such a big deal, but it was to Trucy. Although her adopted father attempted to give her as normal of a childhood as possible, there was no denying that Trucy Wright had been forced to grow up at a young age. She'd once confessed to me that she'd envied those girls in school with the large packs of friends who would go to the movies every weekend, because she'd had to work. And while she loved doing magic, she'd missed out on a crucial point in her childhood. So if she could have her childhood now with a girl who had missed out on the same opportunities, I wasn't going to ruin it, despite the crappy morning I'd had.

"That's great. Did you do all of those normal girl things?" I asked, slurping some of my coffee.

She cocked her head. "Normal girl things? Like what?"

I could tell that this was going to get really awkward really fast, but hey, I'm a glutton for punishment, apparently. "Oh, you know. Hair and makeup and all of those things? Talk about boys and shoes?"

She looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "Why would we talk about those things?"

Frankly, I had to agree. "Uh, yeah."

"Do you do those things, Polly? When you have sleepovers?" she asked innocently.

I blinked. "No." But I could feel my blush, which she was going to pick up on immediately and begin teasing me relentlessly about.

"Then why would you ask?" she asked, leaning forward as if to intimidate me.

"I—uh, I heard that—um, girls are supposed to—uh, talk about that stuff."

"Girls are supposed to talk about what stuff?" Mr. Wright asked, emerging from the office.

I didn't need to be teased relentlessly. "Nothing," I quickly said, taking another sip of my coffee before I could break under his searching gaze.

"I didn't realize you were up," he said to Trucy, mussing her hair affectionately. "You're up pretty early. Pearls still sleeping?"

She nodded.

"Well, Apollo, it's up to you. You can wait for everyone else to get here, or we can start working now." He perched on the edge of the desk, shrugging his shoulders. "It doesn't matter to me."

I drained my cup, setting it in the small sink. "I'll get started."

"That's the spirit." He led me into the room, motioning to the MASON system. "I'll get it calibrated from the other side. You relax. It's just like yesterday."

I shoved the helmet on, and the screens began to play.

It was time for Round Two.

* * *

**A/N: Volume two is finally up! There's always this weird celebratory feeling when you start a new fanfic. I'm relieved, if only to start at the small numbers again!**

**So, obviously, if you haven't read The First Strike, you've got to read it for any of this to make much sense.**

**Happy cinco de mayo~ Celebrate responsibly.**

**Read and Review!**


	2. Turnabout Revisited: Part 1

**Chapter One :: Turnabout Revisited :: Part 1**

Twelve seconds. That was all of the time it took for Nathaniel Price to find the solitary letter in his mailbox, check the return address, and hurl himself back up the stairs to his office as fast as he could. He panted as he slammed the door behind him, hands scrabbling for the letter opener he had in one of his desk drawers. This was the second letter in two weeks; they were getting pretty good at anticipating the mail system now.

He pushed the dull blade of the letter opener between the flap and the envelope body, shearing the folded membrane. The letter was free! He smoothed it out on his desk and began to read.

* * *

_Dear Nate,_

_Can you believe it's already been three months? I just checked off the halfway mark on the calendar today. Then again, my English is degrading quickly, so maybe I can believe it. Despite the large number of letters I write to you and the others per week, I find myself slipping into Japanese characters occasionally. I cringe to think at what my spoken English has become. I used to be so proud of what I'd whittled my accent down to! Somehow, I think that bragging right is going to need to take a vacation as I remember what it's like to speak again._

_That's not to say that I don't get to speak English. In fact, here at the Center, we have an English class. But, well, you remember what it was like when I first attended University. There's not much work on pronunciation here, so sometimes it's hard to understand what the others are saying. I have to remind myself that I started out like that as well. Speaking of foreign languages, I remember you said that you took some Cohdopian in college; when was this? It couldn't have been at USC, but I don't remember it at Berkeley either. Then again, when I failed the Prosecutor's Exam, we stopped talking about such things. _

_Of course I'm still involved in the legal system! In fact, I'm reading up on Japan's version of Civil Law right now. The idea that there could be up to six judges in attendance is a scary thought! Three are civilians, I guess. They're called Lay-judges; I remember reading about them in one of the International Law classes at Berkeley, but I want to see them in action. It's interesting, in my opinion._

_I'm sure you'll get some better cases soon; I know you've been complaining that they haven't been very good lately. Then again, your competition is probably lacking. After all, they're not me._

_Speaking of competition, I never heard what happened with Arielle Holcomb! I heard when I left that she was possibly facing some perjury charges for the Whitman case, but I don't know that I would have continued with that case; I can't think of any good examples of perjury during the trial. Then again, I don't really remember the trial all that well anyways. I can say with some relief that it's all kind of a blur._

_Trucy asked me the other day whether they had magic tricks in rehab. Come to think of it, I've never seen anyone performing any. I suppose that there might be, but . . . _

_Oh, come on, Nate! Man up already! You know you like her; go for it! Honestly, this is just like Silvia all over again. As they say in America, grow a pair! Or, at least, I think that's the expression. I think Kim was the only one who ever said it consistently._

_But seriously. If you like her, just ask her out to dinner. Honestly, you're as bad as Yoshiya, except that Yoshiya won't even tell me who it is he's crushing on. He keeps saying that I don't want to know, but that doesn't mean I don't want a name! So, if he tells you, pass the information along to me, alright?_

_Awaiting your next letter eagerly! 手紙を書いて下さい！_

_Kiria_

* * *

Nathan chuckled, leaning back in his chair as he read over her letter for the second time. She was just as forceful in her letters as she was in real life, although her tone was much lighter. He supposed that might be because of the lack of stress; after all, as she had phrased it in an earlier letter, she was practically taking a 6-month vacation.

"Receive another letter?"

The voice at the doorway made him jump, and his head snapped up fast enough to make his neck hurt. "I didn't hear you open the door! Taking lessons from ninjas, Edgeworth?" he asked as soon as he'd found his voice again.

"Hardly. Everyone knows that you retreat into a state of perception on par with a hibernating bear the moment a new letter comes in. Of course, you also happened to slam your door so hard that I'm surprised the poor frame didn't warp from the abuse." Miles Edgeworth leaned against said frame, arms crossed over his chest casually. "Anything good?"

"Huh?"

"In the letter. Anything good?"

Nathan scanned over it again. "Not really. We've hit the halfway point; she seems excited to come home soon. She's also complaining about her English, but we all know that it'll be up to par in no time. It was just like packing before she left; there was no danger of not being done, but she still complained about it." He folded his hands, leaning forward on the large oak desk. "You wanna come into the office, or just stand at the doorway? I must say, the aloof posture works for you, even if it does look a bit like a brooding teenager."

Edgeworth glowered, moving inside of the office and closing the door behind him. "Are you up for a new case?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Absolutely." He waited until Edgeworth had settled into the chair across from his desk before continuing. "But I will admit that I'm curious as to why you decided to come all the way over here to give me a case instead of having me come to your office like normal."

"Because you don't have to take this case," Edgeworth said carefully, speaking slowly for optimum comprehension. "I can get another attorney to do it if you'd like, but I wanted to see if you would take it first."

"What kind of case is this?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed.

The older man sat back in the chair. "As you know, when Wright was disbarred, his cases fell under review. We've managed to sort out most of them, between Franziska and I. I believe Payne has done a few, as well as Lana Skye. Unfortunately, there are a lot of them being tested in the next few days, and we're stretched thin between us. If you take this case, it is _very_ important that he receives a Guilty verdict."

Nathan cocked an eyebrow. "Well, if he's guilty, he should receive one, right?"

"Yes. But you'll find out soon that just because something _should_ happen doesn't mean that it does. But the reason why I'm asking if you want to take the case is because I know that you and Wright don't necessarily get along."

"I don't feel the need to trust a forger."

"I'm not saying that you have to. I'm just asking that should you decide to take this case, you remain unbiased. I can tell you right now that the Defendant is guilty. I prosecuted this case. He's guilty; you just need to prove it."

Nathan leaned even farther forward. "So, who is this defendant?"

"Are you taking the case?"

His gaze drifted down towards the letter on his desk. Kiria would never forgive him if he didn't. But could he put aside his personal bias in order to do it?

"Yeah, I'll take the case."

Edgeworth nodded, getting to his feet. "Good. The file's in my office; we can talk in there."

* * *

"So, I still fail to see the point of meeting me in my office earlier," Nathan mentioned as Edgeworth looked through the file cabinet.

"It was a gesture that put the power in your hands. I didn't want you feeling like I was forcing you to take this case." The older Prosecutor didn't even look up as he answered the question. With a sigh, he slid the drawer back, opening the one above it. "Must have been the year before," he mumbled to himself, chiding his memory.

Nathan folded his hands together, resting them on his stomach. "So, who is this guy? You said he was guilty, but you failed to say anything else."

A beat of silence fell between them before Edgeworth flopped a file down in front of Nathan. "Matt Engarde is the defendant. I don't know if you watched the case the first time around. It would have been almost three years ago now."

Nathan perused the folder, scanning the information with interest. "He looks familiar, but I don't remember the case. That still would have been pretty early in my law career."

"Matt Engarde was the Nickel Samurai back when the show was airing. He had begun in showbiz at a young age with a manager named Celeste Inpax. The two dated, and according to Matt's later manager, they were happy, but Engarde broke it off for some undisclosed reason. Soon afterwards, Inpax resigned from managing Engarde's career and moved on to his rival, Juan Corrida's. Corrida and Inpax also dated for a while, but Engarde revealed that Inpax was his former lover, and Corrida broke it off with her.

"Inpax, now miserable, committed suicide. There was no suicide note or last will. However, Corrida found the body, and Engarde assumed that because there was no note, that Corrida had hidden it. It made him nervous, what could have been written about him in Inpax's final words, and he set out to steal the note back.

"Corrida, on the other had, had forged a note. He had a Nickel Samurai costume made in order to imitate Matt during a major awards show. He was going to read the forged will as a confession, and Engarde's career would be over."

"This sounds like a soap opera," Nathan groaned.

"It gets better, believe me." Edgeworth steepled his fingers in front of his chest, leaning back in his chair. "Engarde hired a contract killer, Shelly de Killer, to kill Corrida and retrieve the forged note. Corrida ended up dead, and Engarde almost got out of the murder charge. And that is without even mentioning Adrian Andrews."

"Adrian Andrews?"

"Engarde's manager after Inpax left. Inpax was her mentor. She'd stayed on with Engarde after Inpax's death to exact her own revenge. I'm sure you'll speak with her sometime during the case. You may have even seen her around; I know that Franziska is fond of her."

Nathan looked back down at the file in his lap. "But how did Engarde get charged?"

"De Killer confessed to his client. It wasn't easy to get him to do it either. Apparently, assassins have a moral code on par with nuns."

Nathan cocked an eyebrow skeptically, but Edgeworth shrugged and shook his head, still remembering the lengths that the assassin had gone to in order to make it seem like Engarde hadn't been the culprit. "Okay . . . so this case seems pretty open-and-shut to me."

"If only it was that easy. Unfortunately, as you'll see, it's going to be hard to convict him again."

Nathan looked down at the file and then back at his mentor. "So, why aren't you taking this one again?"

Edgeworth picked up his pen. "Franziska and I are both doing cases that are more important at the moment, and while Franziska's case ends tomorrow, this is too important for her to attempt to do at the same time."

"So, who is it?" he asked pointedly.

The older Prosecutor sighed, his patience wearing thin with the countless questions. "I'm prosecuting Dahlia Hawthorne, who is dead. However, she committed many crimes before her death, and if she gets off innocent, well, someone's got to be guilty for those crimes. Franziska is prosecuting Morgan Fey."

"Any relation to Maya?"

"Unfortunately. Maya Fey is Morgan Fey's niece."

"Pearl's mother?" Nathan queried.

Edgeworth nodded. "The same."

"So you've got your hands full, huh?"

"Oh, I would say that you do as well, Price. Matt Engarde may not have committed the same crimes as Morgan Fey and Dahlia Hawthorne, but it's not going to be easy. We've already had one catastrophe happen."

"Redd White?" Nathan guessed, remembering the fuss made on the news. "Payne was the prosecutor, right?"

Edgeworth nodded. "He lost to Catherine Eldredge's younger sister, an attorney straight out of law school."

"Ouch."

"I don't believe anyone was pleased by his failure."

Nathan stood. "I'm going to get working on this, then. Good luck with your dead defendant."

"Don't get cocky, Price. Engarde is dangerous." There was a flicker of emotion that Nathan almost identified as concern, but it was gone as soon as it came.

He nodded. "Got it."

* * *

"A retrial?"

His visitor nodded. "Indeed. That fool Phoenix Wright was disbarred, so everyone is receiving a retrial. But I believe we can use this to our advantage."

Matt Engarde leaned back in the chair provided. "And let me guess, the prosecutor is just in love with everything Wright did? A Wright fan to the end?"

"Actually, no. Nathaniel Price, who is the attorney assigned to the case, has made statements against what Wright did. Another thing we can use to our advantage."

He swept his bangs to one side, letting them fall back in his eyes in the next moment. "And remind me, what am I supposed to do for you if you get me out of jail?"

The woman's mouth spread into a smile. "There's an attorney working with Wright who is meddling in everything my organization is trying to accomplish. She's out of the country for now, but that doesn't mean that we can't get working."

"And you want her taken out, right? But why talk to me? I had a contract killer take care of the guy I needed dead."

She shook her head. "You're merely a distraction. I need you to make some threatening moves towards their side so that we can move in and take her out ourselves."

"And what about this Prosecutor? He's not gonna take this lying down, is he?"

"He'll be disheartened by the loss. But he won't know what we're up to. He's good friends with the woman who is making trouble. But once she's gone, I believe he'll back down. He's not exactly the self-starter she is. He prefers to follow rather than lead, and we can deal with followers." She spread her hands in a gesture of full disclosure. "So, what do you think?"

Engarde's look was skeptical. "It would be stupid not to take such an offer."

She shrugged. "I thought so too."

"I'll do it."

"Good. I'll contact you with the next step. Good day, Mr. Engarde. It was a pleasure doing business with you." She shot him a charming smile, letting herself out of the room in the Detention Center.

"Good day indeed," he mused.

* * *

_Dear Ms. Nomura,_

_I believe you were right in suggesting Price's eligibility for the Engarde case. I agree that the case will turn his feelings against Wright, but I'm not sure to what extent. After all, we both know by this point that he is quite stubborn. He doesn't always do what's best, although I don't know if that's out of a need to defy the rules or whether he just doesn't understand all of the consequences._

_But, perhaps this is irrelevant._

_I'm afraid that the case won't be as easy as I made it sound. The Defense Attorney on the case is the same woman who allowed Redd White to go free: Annabeth Eldredge. Even though she is fresh out of law school, there is talk that she forges evidence. Of course, until she is caught doing so, it will never be brought to trial, but the more she does it, the more she is likely to slip up._

_Of course, this is also hearsay. She may be operating in the boundaries of the law. I have not faced her, but Franziska assures me that she is talented even without the use of evidence. It seems that she is quite skilled at manipulating the judge into agreeing with her. Her tactics do not sound much different from your own as a witness in the Whitman v. State of California case, although I'm quite aware that you would never attempt such a thing as the defense._

_Of course, her sister operates in a similar way. Catherine, although she is quite a good attorney, does use her looks to manipulate both younger judges and witnesses if she needs to. Perhaps Annabeth learned this from her sister's trials._

_This is not to say that I do not believe Price can handle it; I'm more than confident that he can do this. However, it won't be as easy as he'll think, and I can only hope that he doesn't underestimate Miss Eldredge in court tomorrow morning._

_Franziska sends her regards. Also, Price mentioned that you believe your English is deteriorating? I believe those claims are unfounded. It seems excellent in our correspondence._

_Most sincerely,_

_Miles Edgeworth._

Edgeworth sealed the envelope, checking his watch and running out to the postal box. It was going to be a tight schedule, but he managed to slip the letter into the box before the mail truck came by to take it it was a matter of keeping her informed as to the outcome of the case.

For her sake, he hoped Nathaniel Price took this case seriously.

* * *

**A/N: So sorry that this is so late; things have been really wound up lately! Just this week, I did fifteen syntactic trees, a contrastive analysis between Japanese and English, and two short stories. It's been quite busy! So, my apologies for getting this out so late. It's a short chapter too. D: I'm sorry. **

**So, lots of questions opened up! Any guesses about what's going to happen so far? I love hearing from you guys! Oh, and if I got anything wrong from the Engarde case, do tell me; I meant to play through it before this case, but my copy is with a friend right now. D:**

**Oh, and speaking of my reviewers, the number of reviews the first chapter received was phenomenal! Thank you guys so much!**

**Comments ::**

**Zorua: Ah, yes, I remember you telling me that! I would think reviewing from your phone would be quite difficult! Of course, I have problems with phones. ._.;;**

**BlackWiddow: Ahahaha, I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that! I'm always on here to procrastinate. D: **

**Knightofdestiny: And your anticipation has probably worn off seeing how long I took to get this chapter out! Haha, my sincerest apologies.**

**FeytedintheTARDIS: What Trucy and Pearly talked about at the sleepover is all up to your imagination! I'm going to leave it up to the reader to imagine. Oh, and I'm sorry I haven't replied back to your PM yet; I promise, I read it! I'll get back to you within the next few days. I want to make sure I do this right, because it's such an honor to be asked!**

**Blaze: I feel like we need to be standing around with champagne like at the start of a new year! But I hope this chapter was up to your standards!**

**Read and Review?**


	3. Turnabout Revisited: Investigation 1

**Chapter Two :: Turnabout Revisited :: Investigation :: Day 1**

Nathan scanned the case file as he walked back to his office three floors down. One of these days, he vowed, he would have an office with the High Prosecutors, but today he had to walk down the stairs. Three close calls later, and he shut the file before he fell down the stairs. As soon as he'd emerged from the stairwell, he opened the file again, causing the collision with a certain crimson-haired Prosecutor.

"Shit!" he said, dropping the file as he attempted to steady her again. "I'm so sorry!" And then he realized who he was talking to and the wires connecting his brain and mouth suddenly short-circuited. "I, uh, are you, um, okay?"

As soon as she'd regained her balance, Catherine Eldredge looked up at her assailant. "Geez, Price. Talk about running a girl over!" she teased, but her expression softened as she saw the instantly chagrined expression on his face. "I'm absolutely fine. It was partially my fault anyways; I wasn't paying attention." She motioned to the cell phone in her hand.

His eyes followed curves that seemed to defy gravity, today accentuated with her pencil skirt and blouse. And hell, that was without mentioning those legs! She seemed to notice his gaze, but just smiled indulgently at him when he jerked back, horrified that she'd seen his obvious ogling. "I, uh—"

"Wanna go out for coffee later?" she offered.

This was it. The defining moment!

And then his eyes fell on the case file lying open on the ground. "I'm on a case," he said, disappointed.

She didn't seem to be deterred. "But you won't be in a few days." Her eyelashes fluttered coquettishly as she leaned down to pick up the file he'd dropped. Realizing what she was doing, he dropped to a knee, recapturing the papers that had flown everywhere during impact. She stood, handing him the file, and he piled the papers on top of it. "So, what do you say?"

"Uh—what?"

"To getting coffee with me after your trial ends in a few days?" Her perfectly groomed eyebrow cocked at his sudden nervousness, but the wicked glint in her eyes showed that she was clearly enjoying this.

He had to swallow the giant lump in his throat before he could respond. "Yes! I—I mean, sure, if you want," he said, trying to play his enthusiasm down.

She smiled, winking at him. "I'll see you in a few days then, Price." She sauntered off, and Nathan stared as she walked to the stairwell, eyes following her hips as they swayed to a rhythm that was all Catherine Eldredge's.

If he wasn't mistaken, he'd just scored himself a date.

* * *

He didn't exhale until he was in his office with the door closed. Hell, today was just going his way, wasn't it? First a letter, then a new case, and now a date with the woman he'd been eyeing? Maybe he'd stop by a convenience store and grab a lottery ticket while he was at it!

But, back to the case. All of the papers were out of order now, and he took the first ten minutes to reorganize everything from its encounter with the floor.

Then he started reading.

Edgeworth hadn't been kidding when he'd said this would be a hard case. The problem was that nothing had actually been proved; Matt Engarde had been cornered into the Guilty verdict by the testimony of the contract killer. There was still a real lack of evidence tying Matt Engarde to the commissioning of Juan Corrida's death. The crux of the matter lay in Shelly de Killer's hands.

How Nathan was going to get in contact with a contract killer in order to request testimony, he had no clue.

He played around with the stress ball on his desk, thinking deeply. Was there any way to get around de Killer? He wasn't really looking forward to meeting the guy, to tell the truth. But every way that he thought it through, he couldn't imagine how he was going to reaffirm the guilty verdict without the decisive testimony from last time.

Adrian Andrews was going to be another hard one to track down. According to her personnel file, she'd been bounced around from job to job without spending much time at any of them since Juan Corrida's death. Even the Lordly Tailor, the place that she'd had the longest stint of employment with, had fired her four months ago, and the file hadn't been updated with her current employment, if she had any.

He needed to think outside of the box. Where did you find a contract killer? Where did you find a woman who had dependency issues?

* * *

"Edgeworth told me you were friends with Adrian Andrews."

Franziska cocked an eyebrow, disbelief on her face. "Why, yes, Nathaniel Price, I'm having a lovely day, thank you very much for asking. Please, come in," she said sarcastically, a vein of hidden anger beneath it.

He supposed she had to be getting fond of him; two months ago, she would have whipped him into submission rather than been sarcastic. "Sorry. How's your day been?" he asked, suddenly remembering that she was working on the Morgan Fey case.

"Horrible, thank you for asking." Oh, she was in a good mood. He noted that her whip had been flung halfway across the room and made a mental note to dive for it if she got anywhere near it. "The whole police department is full of incompetent fools!"

"Working with Gumshoe again?" He seated himself in the chair across from her desk, leaning on one of the arms casually.

"Not even Scruffy this time! The whole lot of them! They can't do a simple chemical scan correctly!" She looked like she was about to tear her hair out. He leaned over to pat her hand consolingly, but she slapped it away. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I was comforting you!" he said, cradling the offending hand to his chest.

She glared. "I don't need comforted! I need competent people working this case!" After a long minute of an impromptu staring contest, she sighed. "What did you need?"

"I, uh, I'm on the Engarde case. There's no current employer for Adrian Andrews, and Edgeworth mentioned that you and she were friends, so . . ."

She rolled her eyes. "Just like Miles Edgeworth. Volunteer someone else." She grabbed her cell phone from her purse, flipping through it until she found what she was looking for. "Here's her cell phone number," she explained, handing him the sticky note she'd just scribbled on. "There is no guarantee that she will agree to testify again. The Engarde case was not particularly . . . pleasant, for her or I."

He suddenly remembered the reports of Franziska being shot during the case. "Well, that's more help than Edgeworth was, at least." He made to stand before pausing. "I, uh, don't know anything about your case. But . . . I hope you win. Edgeworth made it sound important, and you seem to be really trying to win this one. Not that you don't normally," he quickly rectified. "It's just that you seem more dedicated to the case than it seems like you would be otherwise. It reminds me of Kiria's case three months ago," he finally said, giving up.

Franziska nodded, understanding what he was getting at. "It's important to me, and not just because of Phoenix Wright. This was the first case I lost here in America _to Wright_. For my own ego, I want Morgan Fey to be convicted, not just because of the atrocious crimes she committed."

Nathan finally got to his feet. "Well, I'm sure you'll get her. You'd better get her, anyways."

Franziska's grin was predatory. "Oh, believe me, Nathaniel Price. I will get her. Morgan Fey will not know what hit her when the trial concludes tomorrow."

* * *

Adrian Andrews, to her credit, at least answered the phone. _"Testify?"_ she questioned when he'd explained what he needed. _"M—Matt Engarde's trial? I'm sorry, Mr. Prosecutor, but I can't. I've been trying to rebuild my life ever since the trial. I can't go back in there."_

"Miss Andrews, _please_. There are so few witnesses in this case already. I don't know how I'm going to find Shelley de Killer. I need someone who can testify about Celeste Inpax."

_"I'm sorry, Mr. Price, but I can't. You have a file to explain it. I believe that Matt Engarde is guilty, but I can't walk into that courtroom again and face him."_

"Are you being threatened, Miss Andrews?"

_"No, nothing like that. It's just that . . . I'm a little sensitive when it comes to Matt. Listen, I'm sorry, but I just can't. You'll have to accept that and find a new witness."_

Nathan shook his head. "Thank you for your time, Miss Andrews," he muttered before hanging up. The only witness he had left was Wendy Oldbag, a witness who had such a horrible reputation that he didn't even want to call her to the stand. Matt Engarde would lie on the stand, just like any criminal faced with release would.

It was time to sit down with the evidence and start making a solid case for Matt Engarde's guilt.

* * *

Annabeth Eldredge sat at her desk, watching the kids outside play tennis with the wall. The Public Defense office was too close to the nearby middle school, and instead of a view of a park or something equally picturesque, she had the view of a bunch of snotty kids with no manners.

Then again, if she won the Engarde case, there was no question about it; she'd have enough money for a private practice. Eldredge Law Offices. Perhaps she could get Catherine to convert to the Defense and join her in the company. Between the two of them, they couldn't go wrong.

There were three Eldredge sisters; Catherine was the eldest, and Annabeth was the youngest, but the middle sister, Brooklyn, hadn't gone into the law profession like her sisters. Instead, Brooklyn had associated herself with the prison system, becoming a guard to some of the most notorious criminals.

Dahlia Hawthorne had been one.

She toyed with the picture on her desk. Yes, between the three Eldredge sisters, they could conquer any Prosecutor and any situation. With their red hair and good looks, they could charm Los Angeles into believing in them.

Annabeth Eldredge would instigate a revolution in the legal system that could change everything.

* * *

"Cath, you're serious?"

Catherine rolled her eyes, licking her spoon clean of ice cream. "I'm telling you, that's what I saw. He's not who I would have picked for the Prosecution, but hey, at least Anna can have a pretty boy to look at while she wins her case." She chuckled, diving in for another bite. "Of course, she'd better realize that he's off-limits. He's mine."

Brooklyn laughed. "Is he really that good-looking?"

Catherine pulled out her phone, flipping through the pictures until she found the one she'd taken during the meeting last week. He was turned away from the camera, and his mouth was open, but Brooklyn still nodded in appreciation. "Okay, I'll give you that one. He's not bad, that's for sure. What's his name again?"

"Nathan Price. I'd say that he'd give Anna a run for her money, but he's just too new. Not enough practice yet."

"I don't know; if she gets distracted by those pretty teeth, he might get a leg up. You know how Annabeth gets with cute smiles."

"Again, she has to back off. We're getting coffee after the trial." She smiled gently, twirling a strand of red hair around her finger as she began to doze off.

Brooklyn kicked her under the table. "And what about Kiria Nomura? You said that they were good friends; no jealousy there? I mean, we all know who she's related to."

"Hanako and Mariko Nomura. Yeah, good looks run in the family, but you've gotta see the way they interact, Lyn! I never thought that a boy and a girl could be friends, but they've broken that. It's like . . . I don't know. It's so weird. But I don't think he sees her that way, and she definitely doesn't see him like that."

"No?"

"Oh God, no. During that trial where she was poisoned, did you see her and Miles Edgeworth? There's already talk about the two of them, but I don't think it's official."

"If it even exists. I mean, come on. Miles Edgeworth? Does he _ever_ smile?" Brooklyn shook her head, thinking about her own experiences with the man. "Who would date someone who's such a stick in the mud?"

"I dunno, maybe if you can look past that; he wouldn't be so bad if he smiled," Catherine acknowledged. "I'm sure he's got a killer smile."

"No use if he never does it." Brooklyn shrugged unrepentantly when her sister glared at her. "You're too nice, Cath. People just walk all over you."

Catherine shook her head, finishing up the final bite of her ice cream. "Be that as it may, I'm finding my legs. No one's going to dare to walk all over me soon." She stood, leaning over to kiss her sister on the cheek. "Gotta get back; a new trial might have come around. I swear, the Chief Prosecutor hates me. I never get cases."

"Go get 'em," Brooklyn said, pumping her fist in the air a few times in support. Catherine smiled, waving as she walked away from the table with long, confident strides.

* * *

"Sir?"

The tentative voice made Shelley de Killer turn, a questioning look on his face as he looked at his apprentice. She was rarely so timid around him. "Yes, my dear?"

"Matt Engarde is being retried tomorrow. I know that you had a hand in that case, so . . ."

"Really?" Surprise flitted across his face as he steepled his fingers in front of him. "Quite interesting."

"Interesting? That's all you're going to say?" She placed a hand on her hip, and he suppressed his grin. This was more like her. Sometimes he wondered who was in charge: him or her? "Do you really want him out on the streets?"

"Someone's done their homework."

She didn't look amused. "Only because you told me to. Believe me, I wouldn't have if I didn't have to. Court reports are so boring."

"But important to a de Killer. You must—"

"—always know what's being said about you," she recited with him, sounding bored. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm not saying that they're not important. I'm just saying their entertainment value is on par with that of getting a tooth pulled. But don't change the subject; do you want him released or not?"

"I'd like to see what prison has done to him." He was composed as he took a sip from his cup. "I think we should make a trip to the trial tomorrow."

"Sit in on one? Oh, that sounds so exciting," she said sarcastically, but he didn't miss the spark in her eyes. Something about the idea intrigued her, and he had a inkling what it was. "Let me guess, we'll go in separately and sit on opposite sides of the courtroom so that no one associates us together."

He chuckled. "I had no idea you were so fond of me, my dear."

She flushed up to the roots of her hair.

He took another sip from his cup, enjoying her discomfort before shaking his head. "No, we can sit together. Engarde will be the only one that will likely remember me, and I look different from then. No, we should be fine. As long as you don't go shouting it from the rooftops, we'll be fine."

She was still red when she turned away. "Okay. I'm gonna head home then." She gathered up her belongings, packing even the trial folder she'd been reading earlier, and walked to the door.

"Ah, dear?"

She turned back around with a patient expression on her face.

"It wouldn't do well to get too fond of me. After all, I _am_ twenty years older than you are. In some places, that would be frowned upon. You might be taken for a trophy wife." He laughed when he saw her murderous expression. She flung a fake apple from the bowl on the table at him, and he caught it easily, winking before setting it down.

She stormed out.

He went back to his own file, still chuckling to himself. If she didn't want him to rile her up, then she shouldn't make her reactions so entertaining.

* * *

**A/N: I am so sorry about how long this chapter has taken. My finals are done, and I'm finally finished moving (only to move out in another three months, but hey, can't have it all), so I should have more time to sort things out. You'll notice there's a distinct lack of evidence in this; this is for two reasons. One, I haven't done the evidence list, and two, the Eldredge sisters have now been introduced! Sorry for the huge character dump; we first met Catherine back in the last trial of The First Strike, albeit very briefly. Now you've met Brooklyn and Annabeth. Finally, so sorry that it's so short. Hopefully this isn't an indicator of the rest of this trial. D:**

**A bit of news: I was accepted into my college's elite Creative Writing program (and I'm the youngest one by more than a year; it's a huge honor), so I'm going to be posting a few short stories on the Tumblr account I put at the end of The First Strike. Some of them do feature Kiria and Nate (none of them necessarily canon), so I'll work on getting those up and you guys can tell me what you think!**

**I'm working on a story cover for both The First Strike and Second Chances, but my art skills are less than beautiful, so if someone's good at it . . . ?**

**On to comments! Oh, and thank you all for the positive comments and the Story Favs/Alerts! I open every email about each one, and I do appreciate them, even if I don't always mention them.**

**Blaze: Haha, there's the Shelley de Killer for you! I haven't played the case in a long while, but I'm going to give him a bit more personality than he receives in the game, mostly because we're going to see him behind the scenes with his apprentice. Oh god, this case is a nightmare to plan out. There's a reason why I haven't done it yet. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to pull it off!**

**FeytedintheTARDIS: I'll address the Redd White issue in another chapter (I haven't forgotten it! -minor victory!-), but it just doesn't make sense to mention it yet. But I will talk about it. Glad that you liked it!**

**Sakana-chan63: Nope, it was just mentioned this chapter. I think there was a vague hint in The First Strike, but here are the details. D By the way, do you speak Japanese? 魚ちゃん=Fish-chan! **

**BlackWiddow: I'm not the only one that personifies my laptop! Mine's a girl; her name is Pandora. But alas, back to the actual comment. D Haha, the entrance of Matt Engarde has definitely shaken lots of people up! I didn't expect such a reaction! You'll just have to wait to see how this ends up. I think it's going to be a shorter trial, mostly because I don't want to write the whole first trial over again. xD**

**KnightofDestiny: Awwwwwww. Your comments always make me blush. Yeah, I decided to play around in the Nate-universe for a while; he doesn't get enough love. Funny you should mention Maya; originally, I was going to have Nate tackle the Morgan Fey cases, but it got too confusing, trying to get him to learn both cases that she was involved in (both had multiple guilty persons, and it was a mess). Don't worry; we'll hear from Maya. I find Engarde to be worse than Dahlia, if only because Engarde was ultimately successful in eliminating Corrida; Dahlia never really accomplished anything that she set out to do. Don't get me wrong, I love Dahlia. If I could get her in this story, I would.**

**Read and Review!**


	4. Turnabout Revisited: Trial 1

**Chapter Three :: Turnabout Revisited :: Trial :: Day 1**

Nathan fidgeted as he waited for the trial, his hands jammed in his pockets. He wore a black sweater under his jacket today because of the suddenly chilly weather. The season was beginning to change. Unfortunately, the heating in the building hadn't. He tugged on the collar, nudging the white dress shirt under it as he did so.

If he lost the jacket and just came in the sweater, would that be professional enough?

After a long minute, he stripped off the suit jacket, deciding that it would be better to be comfortable than to force himself into a strict dress code. It wasn't as if he didn't look nice without it on anyways.

"Collar," a feminine voice reminded him, and he turned towards it in surprise.

"Catherine!"

She smiled at him warmly. "Good morning. Your collar is crooked," she pointed out. "Here, hold still." She reached up to fix it, her pale fingers smoothing the fabric down. Nathan had to remember to keep breathing through this. "There. All better!"

"Thanks," he choked out, feeling self-conscious. He cast an eye around the lobby to keep from staring at her for too long. "Why are you here? I didn't realize you had a trial today."

"I don't. My sister is on the Defense. I came to watch her. I just thought I'd say hi."

"You have a sister?"

She nodded. "Two, actually. Both younger. You'll meet Annabeth today, and then I'm sure you've seen Brooklyn around at the Detention Center. She works as a guard. Do you have any siblings?"

"Just one. An older sister. She lives in Albuquerque with my parents."

"Has she ever come to see you in court?"

His lips pressed together. He didn't talk about Michelle much, for good reason. "No. We haven't spoken to one another in a while. We're not especially close."

"No? How disappointing. I can't imagine not having my sisters to rely on."

He shrugged, shoving his hands back in his pockets. "It's not as bad as it sounds. I've got other people."

"Kiria Nomura?"

"Among others. Kiria's an old friend; I have more recent ones too. It's less about blood this way and more about people who care about me and what I'm all about. It works out well." He shrugged, almost flippant about it. "Do you only have your sisters?"

"Mostly. We're a strong base on our own."

He cocked a grin. "A group of femme fatales? Sexy." He winked to make sure that she knew he was joking with her.

She returned a smirk of her own. "Oh, hell yes. You wish you could touch this, Nathaniel Price."

Heat crept into his face and neck with her coy nature. He was saved from a reply as her sister approached. "Catherine. Fraternizing with the opposition?" Unlike her sister's warm, teasing aura, Annabeth Eldredge seemed more distant and cold. She was stiff and straight.

A straight-shooter, through and through.

That didn't minimize her resemblance to Catherine. They had the same red hair and high cheekbones, and although Catherine's eyes were green and Annabeth's were an icy blue, the basic shape was the same. The same shape of the mouth, the same ramrod posture; it was all the same. The only major difference was the look. Catherine's was down-to-earth whereas Annabeth's was somehow above it all, her expression disaffected.

"He's hardly the opposition. You know, you two should get to know each other. Nathan, this is Annabeth. Anna, this is Nathaniel Price."

"The opposition," she said flatly.

Nathan cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, nice to meet you?"

She stared at him like she was staring through him. "Enchanted."

He shifted on his feet uncomfortably. Annabeth Eldredge seemed to be someone who wasn't fond of making small-talk.

"Court will convene shortly. Please enter the courtroom," the bailiff announced from the doors.

"Good luck, Nathan!" Catherine said, pressing her hand against his forearm quickly before walking to the gallery.

Annabeth merely eyed him coldly before strolling into the courtroom.

He had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

"The court will now convene for the trial of Engarde v. the State of California. Are both attorneys present and prepared?" The Judge sat high on her pedestal, grey hair bound in a high bun. Her eyes were evaluating but kind, hovering on both attorneys equally.

Nathan cleared his throat. "The Prosecution is ready, your Honor."

From the other side of the courtroom, Annabeth stood alone. Catherine hadn't lied; Annabeth was certainly _part_ of the Defense. She'd just just happened to leave out the fact that she made up the _entire_ Defense. Annabeth flipped dark red hair over her shoulder, an impassive smile on her face. "The Defense is ready as well."

The Judge nodded, looking between the two of them. "Excellent. Now, let's get down to business. If the Prosecution could give a summary and its opening statement?"

"Absolutely, your Honor." Nathan cleared his throat, glancing down at his notes before speaking. "Two years ago, Matt Engarde was convicted of indirectly murdering Juan Corrida through the use of a contract killer. The Defense Attorney in the case was recently accused and convicted of forging evidence. Mr. Engarde has been granted a retrial to assure that no forged evidence was used in his conviction.

"Because this is a retrial, the way that the court must look at it is different. Instead of being assumed innocent until proven guilty, the defendant will be assumed guilty until evidence proving otherwise has been revealed. The Prosecution finds no evidence that gives any indication of being forged. The charges will remain, and should the defendant be proclaimed guilty once again, he will continue to serve the rest of his sentence."

The Judge nodded her head sharply. "That seems reasonable enough to me. Your opening statement, Miss Eldredge?"

Again, Annabeth looked calm, although her eyes took on a sharper quality than they had before. "The Defense claims that the key witness, the contract killer recruited, was a planted witness. Because he never testified in person, the Defense believes that the Defense Attorney had paid off someone else to pretend to be the contract killer."

"Objection!" Nathan said. "What use would the Defense Attorney have for implicating his own client? Mr. Wright lost that case!"

"Mr. Wright obviously must have had some sort of personal grudge against Mr. Engarde."

He spluttered. "'Obviously must have'? What proof do you have of this accusation?"

"Mr. Wright has been seen with Miss Adrian Andrews, a key witness for this case, in some of his future cases. Miss Andrews wanted revenge against Mr. Engarde, and Mr. Wright was the last piece in the puzzle."

"You think that Adrian Andrews was the real killer?" he questioned. If Annabeth was correct, it brought a whole new meaning to Adrian Andrews' refusal to testify.

Annabeth nodded curtly. "Miss Andrews was devastated by Celeste Inpax's suicide and blamed it on Matt Engarde's honesty in telling Corrida that they had once been together. However, both men were to blame. Miss Andrews killed Juan Corrida, while Matt Engarde would suffer the loss of the popularity that he had once enjoyed as his name was slandered in the media. It was a brilliant plot, all pulled together by Mr. Wright's fraudulent defense. And, of course, we all know what kind of attorney Mr. Wright is." She shrugged a slender shoulder, the malice sparkling in her eyes. It was the first time that he'd seen any sort of emotion from her.

The Judge looked between them. "It's quite an interesting theory. Your thoughts, Mr. Price?"

Nathan cocked an eyebrow. "It's all conjecture. Where's the proof of this plot? Adrian Andrews was exonerated of all charges during the original trial."

"Based on the word of the serial killer and some fingerprints that had been placed at the scene. Miss Andrews is the killer, no matter how hard it is to place blame on such a pathetic woman." Annabeth made a noise of contempt. "Acting like she was working all along to get Mr. Engarde exonerated . . . what a farce. The woman deserves to be charged with perjury as well. In truth, Miss Andrews is nothing more than a skillful actor, and Mr. Wright was just one of her tools."

"And what about the calling card? And when did Mr. Wright meet Miss Andrews? There are simply too many holes in your story, Miss Eldredge! It's all conjecture! The Prosecution moves to have the case dismissed."

Annabeth placed her hand on her hip, fury rolling off of her. "Obviously the calling card was forged. If someone was paid to act like De Killer, then it should be obvious that the calling card would be merely a replica of the real one. My guess is that it was Mr. Wright's first deviation into forgery. As for your other question, it would be obvious, wouldn't it? Miss Andrews would merely enter Mr. Wright's office and propose the partnership for some monetary sum."

"Let me get this straight," Nathan said, one finger tapping at his chin. "You're saying that Mr. Wright and Miss Andrews devised this plot all on their own in order to ruin the defendant's reputation?"

Annabeth nodded. "That is correct."

"That is actually _incorrect,_" Nathan said with a grin. "If you're just looking at the trial itself, that would seem plausible. After all, why not? Mr. Wright has been exposed as a fraudulent attorney. Miss Andrews barely escaped being charged with murder. However, it doesn't explain the events of the trial itself. Namely, Franziska Von Karma's injury."

"'Franziska Von Karma's injury'?" Annabeth parroted.

"Exactly. Miss Von Karma was shot on the way to the courthouse during the trial. However, video footage of the lobby shows Miss Andrews in the courthouse lobby at the time. In addition, Mr. Wright had no reason to shoot Miss Von Karma." He raised his eyebrows, asking the silent question.

"Mr. Wright has always had a better relationship with Miles Edgeworth, who was the one to take over the trial that day," Annabeth explained.

"Proof?" Nathan asked, his voice as dismissive as a teacher speaking to a particularly slow student.

She flushed, glaring at him angrily. "I . . ."

"The courtroom is for proof, Miss Eldredge. Until you have proof of something, I wouldn't suggest bringing it up. Conjecture isn't going to get you anywhere." His grin was sly. "Of course, I also had the idea that the Defense would bring up the existence of De Killer. My witness is, unfortunately, running her own trial. We'll have to get back to her tomorrow, if additional proof is still required. My other question, of course, lies with Maya Fey's disappearance. Tell me, Miss Eldredge, where did Maya Fey go if Shelly De Killer doesn't exist?"

"Mr. Wright would need some sort of reason to turncoat on my client at the last minute as he did. Maya Fey ended up being that pressure point. What if it was all staged? Maya Fey never left her home and pretended to disappear for a while as the trial went on. All of a sudden, Mr. Engarde is declared guilty, and Miss Fey is present once again. What a coincidence, no?"

"Again, do you have proof?"

She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I will come back tomorrow with proof."

"That's a tall order, finding proof that doesn't exist." Nathan turned back to the Judge. "Your Honor, the Prosecution moves for an immediate verdict. The Defense has proved nothing in her theory, and so it remains just a theory. Meanwhile, the Prosecution has presented examples for every once of Miss Eldredge's wild fantasies. It is obvious that Mr. Engarde is still as guilty as they come!"

The Judge contemplated this for a very long moment as Annabeth spluttered angrily at his word choice. He was already imagining Annabeth turning into a giant viper and striking at him from across the room. He had to hope that she wouldn't take a page from Franziska's book and start carrying with her a whip, otherwise he would have to watch his back in the courtroom just as much as he had to at the office.

"I'm afraid that I can't place a verdict with complete certainty after just hearing this debate. While I would agree with the Prosecution that the Defense has unfortunately proved nothing, both attorneys are young. The mark of a inexperience is being unprepared, which has struck a huge hole in Miss Eldredge's case today. I'm going to extend this trial for a day in order to give her a chance to redeem her case. Miss Eldredge, you should be warned that should your case not be watertight tomorrow, I will place my verdict, proof or no. Is this clear?"

"Crystal," Annabeth grumbled.

Nathan frowned, but nodded. He would have preferred the easy trial, one and done, but it looked like his victory would have to be prolonged for another day. "Yes, your Honor."

"Excellent. Court is adjourned for the day. I expect to see you both bright and early tomorrow morning." She smiled down on both of them, the corners of her eyes crinkling as his own grandmother's might have, before standing and departing to her chambers.

* * *

"I thought you said that it would all be taken care of?" Engarde questioned as the woman entered the visiting room. He didn't look particularly bothered, but then again, he seemed to be a cool customer to begin with. It would be easy to take him at his face value, she realized as she studied his face. He had a naturally vacant gaze, and with his physique being closest to that of a jock she might have seen in High School, it wouldn't be too hard to miss the hard line of the mouth and the hardened jaw whenever he ground his teeth.

She shook her head. "I didn't realize the Defense would be quite as ineffectual as it was. A disappointment, really. I had such plans for her."

"Plans? So you're the brains of this whole operation?" He cocked an eyebrow at her, as if he didn't believe her. "And what kind of plans did you have for her? Sheltered whelp, only coming out whenever victory is certain? You couldn't have her reputation dropping, after all. Might smear the name."

She stared at him with a scathing gaze. "I have more plans than you could ever come up with. Your scheme to blackmail De Killer backfired on you, all because you happened to leave a video tape someplace that it could be found. What about the first rule of being a criminal? Keep all evidence on you at all times."

"And then if you get caught? What then?" He had leaned back in his chair, his eyes speculating as he evaluated her.

"It has to be something that won't be incriminating, of course. You heard about Dahlia Hawthorne's brilliant poisoning of that Defense Attorney, right? A necklace? Who would even think twice about a tiny trinket?"

"And that ended so well for her, didn't it?" he queried. "Didn't she receive the death penalty?"

"For the murder of Doug Swallow? Yes. It was the wrong sentence, in my opinion. One count of murder and one more of attempted murder is hardly enough to employ the death penalty. After all, they never convicted anyone in the trial before that." She shrugged. "But think back to the poisoning of Diego Armando. It wasn't revealed until months later, was it? And the only reason it was ever discovered was because she'd given it away. To Phoenix Wright, of all people." She mused over that for a second. "What do you think of Wright?" she asked.

"You're asking me?"

"Absolutely. You were his client. What were his weaknesses?"

Engarde chuckled. "Maya Fey, for one thing. God, you should have seen him run around after her like he could do something about it. Like any _normal_ serial killer would return her alive. Then again, De Killer was a poor choice. He seemed like the biggest idiot of the group I looked at, though." His mouth twitched as he thought about that for a second, and then he returned to the question. "Wright's loyal to a fault. He looked almost betrayed when he realized I was guilty. Hell, all the warning signs were there, and he'd passed them without a glance sideways. But even he couldn't ignore the picture in front of him."

"Interesting . . ."

"You planning on going after Wright too? Sounds like a lot of people to go after, if you ask me."

Her lips curved into a smile. "Kiria Nomura has done enough damage to our organization. I want to destroy her inside and out. I want to crush her like Adrian Andrews wanted to crush you. The only difference is that Andrews didn't have the guts to eliminate you. Lucky for you."

"Not so lucky for this Nomura girl. Lots of hatred for her, huh? She cause your mentor to commit suicide too?" His grin was patronizing, and she could feel her anger rising.

"No. And I wouldn't bring her up if I were you. After all, we're getting you out of the mess you've made. It would be a shame if we decided to pull out. And what would stop us from doing so?" She stood, spreading her hands in a questioning expression before putting them back in her pockets. "Think that over, Engarde, and think about anyone else I can go after that might be related to Wright. You wouldn't want to outlive your usefulness, would you?"

* * *

**A/N: Another short chapter, but this one was PACKED with stuff. So I'm not going to apologize, if you all don't mind.**

**I will apologize for the lateness of this chapter, however. It's been done for a while; however, I've been fighting with my Internet connection so that I could post it. The next chapter is in construction already and hopefully it won't be as long before that one comes out.**

**The other reason for the lateness is my own fault; I've been OBSESSED with the Assassin's Creed games and working full-time. My writing time has decreased drastically.**

**The evidence list is already done. This is going to be a pretty short trial; I don't want to rehash the ENTIRE thing over again, so key points are going to be made and then dropped. Don't fret, we'll have witnesses. **

**Comments!**

**FeytedintheTARDIS: Thanks, honey! Believe me, what I've written has taken A LOT of practice and a lot of failed manuscripts that will never see the light of day (I also started writing with pen and paper, and I haven't burned most of my early stuff, but only so that I can once my first book comes out in the future. Haha, I loved Shelly De Killer in GS2, and I was disappointed when they didn't bring him back! So, of course he'll have a place here!**

**Sakana-chan63: Ah, I suppose I could do a Kiria update! I'll try to include one in the next chapter (no promises; it may be the chapter after that).**

**Blaze: I know! I think I'm getting slower and slower at chapter updates. D: This case has been hard to do anyways. Now that it's all scripted out, it should be up faster now. Aw, thank you! I'll try to keep it interesting!**

**Knightofdestiny: Not as much mayhem as you were expecting? Originally, Nate was going to have a harder time until I realized the base expectations for a retrial. D: So I might have exaggerated things a bit too much in the last chapter. Haha, a tease? In this fanfiction? Never! D Hope this lived up to your expectations!**

**Read and review? c: Do brownies sweeten the deal any?**


	5. Turnabout Revisited: Investigation 2a

**Chapter Four :: Turnabout Revisited :: Investigation :: Day** **2 :: Part 1**

Kiria rested her head in one hand, tracing invisible patterns on the table with the other. It wasn't that the vacation wasn't appreciated; she'd certainly needed the break after the last trial. It was too long, though. She was itching to get out of here, to get back to her career and her friends and all of the things that mattered to her.

The cravings had been bad at the beginning. Even though she'd been exposed to the drug as a poison, there was still a part of her that needed that detachment that the Rydeine had provided. The numb feeling had threatened to creep through her, starting in her fingers and toes as she suffered through the worst of the withdrawal symptoms. The plane ride had been the hardest. She'd taken up running and dancing again to keep them at bay, but in such a confined space, it was impossible.

Now that November had approached and the cold weather was starting, she could feel the restlessness set in. She was tired of the 24/7 surveillance. She rarely felt the pangs for drugs anymore. She wanted to start her life up from where she'd last set it down, and the sooner she did so the better.

"Nomura-_san_? The psychologist will see you now," the receptionist announced from her desk. Kiria nodded, pulling her sweater tighter around her shoulders before standing and following the woman into the office.

The psychologist was actually her least favorite part of the experience, but Yoshiya had insisted after noticing her self-destructive tendencies. Mariko had seconded the decision and basically guilt-tripped her into agreeing, but if it could give her brother and sister a bit of peace of mind, she supposed she could suffer through it.

Of course, trying to tell the psychologist as much as she could without revealing that she was seeing ghosts was difficult.

They'd seemed to be around more ever since she'd woken up from her poisoning, although she wasn't sure why. She could usually tell when they were ghosts—after all, they usually were transparent like Madeleine had been—but she'd had a conversation for almost twenty minutes with one, all the while believing that it was a real person. It was getting harder and harder to distinguish them from real people, and she wasn't brave enough to reach out and touch one without Mia or Maya there to intervene. She doubted anything would happen, but it was still better to have an expert around before she did stupid things.

The psychologist, a petite, thin man with a fixed serious expression, motioned to the chair on the other side of the table. Like normal, they would make small talk before delving into the issues, although Kiria didn't have many of them. She contemplated making something up, but was worried that it might hinder her perceived progress in rehab. "Cold?" he asked, noticing how she had her jacket wrapped around herself.

"It's just the turn of the seasons," she reassured him. "I didn't pack well, since I arrived in August. I knew that I was going to be here until winter, but I suppose I didn't really think it through. I didn't remember how cold it gets."

"This isn't about punishing yourself?" he asked.

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Of course not. Honestly, it was short-lived. The punishing myself, I mean."

"I hardly call two months to be short-lived."

She bit her lip, clenching her fist gently. Although she'd been doing well, eventually her own guilt had gotten to her again. She'd been caught forcing herself to vomit. Of course, once someone else had known, it had stopped abruptly. "A fluke. I've gone a whole month without doing it."

"And that is a success." He smiled, thin lips curving and a dimple even showing in his right cheek. "Celebrating the small successes is a good habit to get into. Three months clean now?"

"Yes. I hardly ever think about it now."

"And how are the other parts of your life? Have you been reaching out?"

He had suggested that she find some people in the same rehab center that she could talk to a few months before, but she found herself at a loss. An American lawyer was hardly typical in such a place, and she didn't have much in common with anyone. There were only two people she spoke to regularly, one because she was young and wanted to learn English. Kiria hadn't had the heart to refuse the request for a conversation partner, especially since she'd realized that her grasp of the language far exceeded any in the immediate area.

"A bit," she said timidly.

"How often do you hear from your family?" he asked, his eyes kind.

Her lips curved into a smile at the mention. "Occasionally. My older brother is busy. He's constantly traveling around, so it's hard to talk with him much. My older sister visits whenever she's in Osaka, though."

"And what of your friends in America?"

"We write letters. Calling is too expensive, but I write a letter almost every day." She chuckled, thinking of the letter from Trucy on her desk that had yet to be answered. "I miss them all, but I'm not going back to them unless I'm 100 percent. They deserve to have me at my best."

"Do you ever feel inadequate?"

The question seemed to come out of nowhere, but she nodded. "Occasionally. I don't deserve to have such fantastic friends. There are a lot of people who would have left when they found out that I'd failed to tell them that I was a drug addict, but they all stayed. I'm lucky."

"Indeed. They seem fairly tolerant."

"I think it's the profession. There are a lot of things we've faced that you don't see every day. Forces us to be flexible."

"And you like being a lawyer?"

"More than I thought I would. I think it's that competitive streak."

"A need to win?"

"Perhaps not a need," she corrected. "More a knowledge that there's a puzzle out there that needs solved and wanting to be the first one to solve it."

He nodded, looking at the clock. "Do you have anything for us to discuss?"

She shook her head.

"If you'd like, you're welcome to go. I see no problems that need immediate addressing."

Kiria stood, bowing her thanks before fleeing from the office. Her bag slung over her shoulder, she strolled quickly to the train station, picking up the next train to the rehab area. It was no more than a five-minute ride, and then another two minutes to her small apartment. She unlocked the door, pivoting smoothly as she took off her shoes and stepped into the sparsely-decorated hallway. Although she'd been advised to unpack and make this her temporary home, she was still mostly living out of her suitcase.

She grabbed the rubber band from the nearby table, throwing her hair into a messy bun. It was growing longer; she hadn't had a haircut since she'd arrived. A few split ends had caught her eye this morning, so she searched for the scissors and put them on top of the counter in the bathroom before doing anything else. It was only after she'd cleaned up a little bit that she sat at the desk, Trucy's letter in hand. She fumbled around in her drawer for a pen, hand brushing against the framed photograph stuffed in there. On a whim, she pulled it out, smiling at the faces grinning back at her. The only reason why the picture wasn't on her desk was because of a case she'd been working on in her spare time. There was a faint feeling of guilt whenever she opened the file and saw them.

She placed it back on her desk, picking up her pen and proceeding to write.

* * *

Nathan reclined back in his chair, waiting for Franziska to come back in from her trial. Seeing as a major point in his case centered on her testimony, he wanted to get her as a witness before she got another case on her plate. Of course, he was also looking for her opinion as well. Franziska Von Karma was an excellent Prosecutor, and she oftentimes had insights that he missed.

While he was waiting, he made a list of the points Annabeth Eldredge had made earlier in the trial. These were the points he expected her to come back with evidence for, and while he was fairly sure that no evidence existed, she wasn't just going to walk into the courtroom and hand him the win.

Of course, her reputation had preceded her, and he was a little disappointed by what he'd seen. He'd been expecting a trial centered on manipulation, not the shoddy case she'd presented. He'd also heard about forged evidence, and the fact that she hadn't presented anything led him to believe if she was going to present anything, it would be tomorrow. He'd have to be careful with keeping an eye on what she was going to "uncover".

He could hear Franziska's boots clomping against the stairs before he caught a glance of the woman. He'd shot a text message to her earlier, requesting her assistance, and he could see the superior smile on her face from feet away. "You asked for my help, Nathaniel Price?"

"I could use assistance, if that's what you're asking." He cocked an eyebrow at her, daring her to correct him. A few months ago, he would have never dared to challenge the Queen of the Courtroom like this. There was a common pride in both of them; they both wanted to be the most brilliant. It was the competition he wanted, the need to excel. It was the only way he might have a chance against whatever Annabeth threw at him tomorrow. "How'd your trial end?"

"With a guilty verdict, as it should have." A pleased smirk hovered on her pale lips. "I take it from your request that things didn't go as planned?"

"Not exactly. I crushed her, there's no question about it. But she managed to convince the Judge that she needed another day to prepare."

Franziska crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to her left leg. "So what do you need my help with?"

"I managed to bat down all of her attempts with a lack of evidence, but when she comes back tomorrow, she's either got to show some evidence or lose, and somehow, I doubt it'll be the latter." He steepled his fingers in front of him, peering at her over them. "I don't know where to start. And, of course, I'll need your testimony tomorrow."

"_My_ testimony?"

He nodded. "Your wound came up today as a reason why Adrian Andrews couldn't have been the culprit."

"She's accusing Adrian Andrews?" A short look of surprise crossed her face, but it was smothered almost immediately. "Quite interesting. Ridiculous, but interesting. Her case can't be overly strong, if that's what vein she's going in."

"As I said, her case was falling apart with every point she put up. It was embarrassing."

Franziska thought it over for a moment. "Perhaps she used it as a ploy to make you confident and complacent. Annabeth Eldredge is a master manipulator. She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. It's interesting how she's playing this."

"I don't know. If she faked that, it was pretty well done, because she fooled me. She just looked like she didn't know what to do. I'm guessing she's dropped the ball on this one."

"Perhaps." She didn't look convinced, but her tone made it obvious she wasn't going to argue about it any longer. "In any case, that means that Adrian Andrew will likely testify tomorrow."

"She seemed pretty adamant that she wasn't going to when I talked with her yesterday. I guess with her neck on the line, though, it's a little different."

"She'll be sent a subpoena to force her to testify. The trial can't end without her testimony." Franziska eventually took the seat across the desk from him, hooking one leg over her knee. "Prepare for a timid witness. Adrian will not be confident once she's been forced into doing something. She still has her dependency issues, so you might want to establish some sort of rapport with her before the trial begins. If you can get her to depend on you, the answers are going to come easier, and Annabeth Eldredge can't jump on that to use in her case."

"So, visit Adrian Andrews today and play the nice guy?"

Her mouth twisted as she considered her play. "I'll come with you. Adrian and I are friends; hopefully, it'll make her feel better about the whole thing."

"You have friends outside of work?" The question sort of burst out of his mouth before he'd thought about it, and he cringed, waiting for the whip to strike, but she merely frowned.

"Don't presume to know my private life, Price."

"Of course, I didn't mean—" he spluttered, but she had already risen, one gloved hand locked on her briefcase.

"Meet me in a half hour in the parking garage. If you're late, you're going to wish you hadn't been," she called over her shoulder coolly.

He had a feeling he'd just screwed up.

* * *

Edgeworth reviewed his case file, racking his brain for anything more that he might be able to do with the evidence had in his possession. The trial versus Dahlia Hawthorne was ending tomorrow, and Franziska's victory against Morgan Fey had done wonders for his case already. With Morgan guilty, it wasn't going to take much to place the final blame on Dahlia. The only charges remaining were the murder of Misty Fey—or Elise Deauxnim, as they had been referring to her in the trial—and Diego Armando.

Godot. The name sent a chill down his spine, if only to ponder the anger he had shown while watching the Redd White case. Edgeworth had been the one to approve the request, although he wasn't the Prosecutor on it, believing that the victory would settle the man's quest for avenging Mia Fey's death. Of course, Payne had failed to convict Redd White, and now the man was out free and Maya Fey was back on the defendant's block for the murder. Lana Skye had taken the case, declaring that if Maya Fey was convicted, she'd serve the prison sentence herself.

But Edgeworth had watched the footage of Payne's defeat, seeing firsthand the rage that had filled Godot at the 'Not Guilty' verdict. He had stood, slamming his hands on the desk, and cited all of the evidence that hadn't been presented, each one a further condemnation. Eventually, the bailiff had escorted him out, and he was sporting a contempt of court charge as well. It had seemed out of proportion at the beginning, but the more he watched it, it seemed almost like he hadn't done enough. The man had loved Mia Fey so much that he had made Wright's court days a living hell for a while. If their story wasn't a tragedy, he wasn't sure what was.

He had the Prosecution spot in Diego Armando's impending trial, and he was almost tempted to throw out the charges, or at least lessen them to allow the man to live. Such dedication could hardly go unrewarded, could it?

And yet, it seemed to be. Due to the Double Jeopardy rule, Redd White could never be tried again for Mia Fey's murder.

And Godot was still waiting to die.

Where had the _justice_ gone in the justice system? Wright was convicted of forgery, Diego Armando of murder, and Mia Fey of an early death. That wasn't even mentioning poor Iris, who had gone by Hawthorne previously, but had dropped the surname after Dahlia's conviction. She was going by Fey, but still became teary-eyed when she heard Misty or Maya's name out of guilt. He was tempted to remind her that it was hardly her fault, but she would have tossed aside his consolation with a few well-placed words. She was guilty of nothing but loyalty to her sister, in his opinion.

What was it with wanting to blame someone for everything? Was there really a need to convict people like Godot and Iris, who had done things with good intentions?

The road to hell was paved with good intentions, he reminded himself.

Closing the file, he massaged his temples before grabbing his car keys. If he couldn't do anything else, the least he could do was stop by the Wright Talent Agency and check on Maya. The poor girl, so used to depending on Wright for protection, had been forced to look elsewhere for a Defense Attorney. Grossberg had volunteered his services _pro bono_, and she'd accepted, but not without some misgivings. Seeing as he had been the one to reveal her mother's failure, Edgeworth couldn't blame her too much for her timidity.

If only Godot could have represented her. If only Byrne Faraday was still alive. If only Kiria Nomura was still in the country.

Kiria Nomura. The thought of her made him halt his progress. He was quite fond of her, if he was being honest with himself, but there seemed to be a whole layer beneath the smiling facade she put on that was simmering. He'd glimpsed it after Wright's disbarring, and then during her trial. She seemed determined to destroy herself after failure, but it was private. She didn't show her weaknesses; a trait of her Japanese upbringing, according to Yoshiya. The culture seemed very private, it seemed, with personal matters such as feelings. She'd perfected a poker face for the first eighteen years of her life, and there was something about her that made him want to chip through that mask and see the girl shining through. Did he even know her at all?

He knew she enjoyed old literature, and even read different translations sometimes. He knew that she had a tendency to worry until something was complete. He knew she valued her family and friends above anything else. And, of course, she had a thirst for justice that rivaled his own. He still remembered her declaration of guilt when she'd recounted her drug addiction. Thinking back on the Evangeline Illane case only strengthened the knowledge.

Even after six months of knowing her, she was still an enigma. An enigma wrapped in puzzle after puzzle, he reminded himself.

He started walking to his door again, opening it and making sure it locked behind him before he skipped down the stairs to the parking garage. There was plenty of time to ponder her more until she arrived back again. Until then, he needed to make sure that he made the environment she returned to the same as she'd left it, and that meant keeping Maya Fey out of jail.

* * *

**A/N: Another delayed chapter; this one was because I wrote _Solitaire_ for the Mentalist fandom. If anyone else is a Mentalist fan, check it out! It's a tag for the Season 4 finale, and written in a different style from the Seven Year War series. **

**Anyways, about the chapter! I know that there's not much about Nate and the case, but that'll come in the next chapter. Originally, this was going to be the only Investigation chapter, but that changed when someone asked for an update on Kiria. This'll probably be the last time you hear from Kiria until she reappears in the story for some actual plot. Meanwhile, we get to see Adrian Andrews next chapter.**

**As some of you might have realized by the stalling in this chapter, I've suddenly forgotten all of Annabeth's case. My notes on her side of the case have not vanished, but instead, have become as cryptic to me as hieroglyphics. I apparently needed to annotate more. So, as I try to figure out what she was doing for the next trial sequence, you'll have to deal with philosophical meanderings such as Edgeworth's. I thought it might be nice to look at the old characters and what they're doing though.**

**The only delays in the next chapter will be my job and any further fanfictions I put up (a sequel for _Solitaire_ is on my mind, as well as a late fanfiction for my roomie's birthday). So, hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon and I'll have Annabeth's case put together for the next trial sequence ASAP!**

**Oh, and a quick heads-up; most of you that are reviewing anonymously are just titled "Guest" in my reviews; if you wouldn't mind, would you put a name in your review? Just so that I can distinguish you from the others?**

**Comments ::**

**Blaze: Actually, I got your first review, unless someone is using your name! It just said "Guest", but you mentioned it in your comment. Haha, nostalgia? It's strange to write for the Prosecution, just because so much of the game is centered around the Defense. I have to rethink how I approach everything. Hopefully my paradigm shift is showing, and is making a coherent case. I guess it doesn't help if I forget the case, but . . . **

**Natta: Well, I signed myself on to five more after this one; I may cut it down a little, but I do have quite a way to go! I hope you'll stay on for the ride, and that my long writing times don't turn you off. I'm glad to hear you like Kiria; most people tend to like Nate more (I'll admit, I love them both, but I have a special soft spot for Nate). **

**Guest: Haha, no brownies? I think that's the first time someone's said no to them! I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much! I hope this chapter has lived up to the last one (I'm not sure that it does; it seems a little flat to me). Finally, someone that likes the Eldredge sisters! I've mostly been getting the "I don't trust them" vibe from everyone. Does this whole fic feel like Survivor or something (am I the only writer that writes fics that not every new character is bad? Am I the only one who gets the Survivor reference?)? I guess you'll have to forgive me for the lateness. **

**FeytedintheTARDIS: I'm getting to the point where I can write your username without looking at it (after how long now? God, I am getting pathetic)! Well, I _did_ wait for you to get internet, I guess. xD I hope to get the next one up sooner. Haha, I'm so awful with my villains. My twisted little mind loves those bits like with Engarde at the end. I think my villains are better fleshed-out than my protagonists most of the time.**

**KnightofDestiny: Well, what would the point of writing this trial be if it didn't have repercussions? I will agree with you that this is a major time for everyone involved, and you'll be referencing the end of this trial at the end of this volume. Just a small teaser for you. Haha, everyone's suspicious of the Eldredge sisters! Poor girls; hopefully they'll be loved soon!**

**Read and review? Burgers for all?**


	6. Turnabout Revisited: Investigation 2b

**Chapter Five :: Turnabout Revisited :: Investigation :: Day 2 :: Part 2 [Final]**

"You're late."

Nathan grimaced. "Payne caught me on the stairs. Wanted to talk about my 'possible shortcomings' in my future career." He and Kiria shared a similar dislike of the man, although Nathan had to repeatedly remind himself to play nice. The man, despite how foolish he might be, was still one of his colleagues.

"And what did you tell him?" There was a small note of warmth to Franziska's tone with the humor she found from the situation.

"Other than to mind his own business?"

She chuckled. "Come now, Nathaniel Price. Surely you didn't let him off that easily."

"I did, unfortunately. Although, if he keeps it up, I'm going to ask if I can borrow your whip. Like I'd take advice from a man who wins only half of his cases due to incompetence." He was in a worse mood than he'd realized, now that he was listening to his own words. He wanted the easy victory. He didn't want to sit there and guess where Annabeth Eldredge was going to pop up from with an impossible case.

Franziska's eyes closed as she smirked. "Remember those words. Hopefully you realize to turn them on yourself when you hit a losing streak."

"Are you being sympathetic to Winston Payne?" he asked in disbelief.

Her eyes snapped back open and an insulted look replaced the one of humor. "Get in the car, Price," she snapped, opening the driver's door to her vehicle. He slid into the passenger seat, unable to smother his laughter when he heard snippets of, "what an idiot" and "foolishly foolish fool".

* * *

Edgeworth had barely slid out of his car before a small blur of red and brown came hurtling at him. "Uncle Edgeworth! Uncle Edgeworth!" Trucy was calling, wrapping her thin limbs around his waist in a hug. He patted her head awkwardly, waiting for her to release her grip. She finally did, although she merely moved back, a pout on her lips. "You never come and visit anymore!"

"I've been busy. How's Maya?"

"Mommy?" Trucy's face fell. "She's really quiet. Daddy keeps trying to cheer her up, but it's not working."

He couldn't help the chagrined expression from breaking out over his face. Of course Maya would be feeling insecure right now, after her sister's murderer had been declared innocent. Maya didn't know that Lana Skye was her silent guardian angel during her trial, and Lana would prefer that Maya stay oblivious. "I'm sure they'll work it out soon," he said, although the reassurance fell flat to his own ears.

Trucy's expression didn't change, but there was only a beat of awkward silence before a beatific smile was back on her face. "Come on in! I'll even make you some tea!"

Edgeworth hoped that the cringe that he'd done was invisible to the small girl. As cute as she was, the last time she'd tried to serve him a cup of tea, she'd magicked it out of a hat. He preferred to see it poured from the kettle, or at least not have remnants from the fabric of her hat floating in it.

She pushed open the front door, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Uncle Edgeworth's here!"

Phoenix and Maya were seated at a tiny kitchen table, leaned towards each other, although they eased back when they saw him enter. Maya looked tired, with dark circles under her eyes, whereas Phoenix looked worse than Edgeworth could ever remember seeing him. He looked like he hadn't shaved in days, and his eyes were red. "Edgeworth," he said in surprise, rising. "What are you doing here?"

"Seeing if either of you could use any help. I realize this wasn't in the cards for Redd White to spring free of the charges, but we'll just have to get over it. Have you met with Grossberg?" he asked, turning to Maya.

She nodded. "With the trial starting tomorrow morning, he's going to try to hit hard and fast. Bring out the best evidence he has first. The bloody receipt with my name on it is still the best evidence they have against me though."

His heart skipped a half of a beat as he remembered the reason why that was still haunting her. It had been one of the last pieces of evidence he had ever used that had been tampered with. Of course, he had never been physically part of it—that was Manfred Von Karma's doing—but he had still used it to his advantage. "It's weak. All of the evidence against you is weak. They won't be able to convict."

Maya made a noncommittal noise, but smiled. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

The unfairness of the whole situation made his blood boil. How much would Maya Fey have to endure before she could rest for a while? How much longer could she keep smiling before everything came crashing down around her? "The Prosecutor is Lana Skye. She and Mia were friends once," he said, trying to hint without giving it all away that the deck was stacked in her favor.

Phoenix looked up sharply. "Lana Skye?" A small smile played across his lips as he thought that over. "I'd heard that she returned to prosecuting a couple of years ago. I was disappointed I never got to take her on. Then again, I'm not sure I would have wanted to. She _was_ Chief Prosecutor, there for a while."

"Lana is an excellent attorney of her own right. She'll make sure that the truth comes out." Edgeworth dusted off the front of his jacket, just for something to do with his hands while he was speaking instead of standing there awkwardly.

Maya fiddled with one of the place mats on the table. "If you don't mind, I'm going to check on Trucy." Her eyes still averted, she rose and fled the room.

Edgeworth took her chair. "She's not doing well," he stated.

Phoenix nodded. "She's on uneven ground. She had Mia, and then when she lost Mia, she had me to bail her out of trouble. If Kiria were here, things might be a little better, but at the moment, she's not sure what to expect. When Maya trusts, it's like a child; it's unconditional. But I'm sure you understand what's got her hesitant of trusting Marvin Grossberg with her future, even if it is related to Mia." He didn't have to state how Grossberg had betrayed the Feys so deeply by disgracing Misty Fey and the Kurain Channeling Technique.

"There are other Defense Attorneys out there. We can find her a new one if she's not comfortable with him."

"She'll be more uncomfortable with someone completely new. She at least knows that Grossberg is a decent attorney, seeing as he mentored her sister. It's just a change that no one expected to happen, and we'll take it in stride." Phoenix took a long drink from his coffee cup, making a face at the temperature. It had obviously been sitting there for a while. There was a brief silence between them before he finally worked up the courage to ask the question he'd wanted to ask since he'd heard the news. "How'd it happen?"

"Hm?"

"How'd the Defense come up with a story to get Redd White out of jail? The man blackmailed half of the justice system and murdered an attorney; how'd he get an acquittal?"

Edgeworth's lips pressed together. "The Defense wasn't spectacular, as you might think. Part of it was Payne's incompetence. But the other thing—which I don't have proof of, so you can _not_ repeat it—is that the Judge may or may not have been coerced or bribed."

"So, back to his old tricks?"

"I can't think of a way that he could have contacted the Judge. The Defense, despite taking White on as a client, is an honorable attorney. He wouldn't have stooped so low as to allow his client to influence the Judge if he knew anything about it. That leaves someone on the outside."

"But anyone on the outside would have influenced him in the first trial, right?"

Edgeworth shook his head. "I don't know. As I said, I have no proof of it. It's just a hunch, after seeing the trial."

The two sat in silence again before Phoenix broke it again. "I saw the first day of the Engarde trial. Your apprentice is getting good at this."

"I didn't see the trial. I take it he did well?"

"Quite admirably. Completely buried Annabeth Eldredge. It was the Judge's pity that extended the trial. He didn't give an inch."

"Sounds like Engarde is in the bag. Franziska won the Morgan Fey trial earlier today, so on our track record, we're not doing badly."

"Only Redd White so far."

Edgeworth fidgeted. "You might have guessed this at the time, but there's a piece of forged evidence in the Redd White case."

"The autopsy report." Phoenix didn't bat an eyelash.

"You understand why I can't inform the attorneys on the case, right?"

Phoenix snorted. "Of course. I may be oblivious to most things, but not that. Besides, I doubt Lana would throw you under the bus anyways." He paused. "You know, I noticed that you're calling her Lana, not 'Miss Skye'. Why is that?"

"Hm? Ah, I hear from both her and Ema fairly often. I can't call them both 'Miss Skye', now can I?"

"Well, I wouldn't have put it past you. It's more surprise at the expression of closeness."

Edgeworth couldn't help the small smile from appearing on his lips. "You can tell that we're finally seeing the real Lana Skye. She smiles more, and makes an effort to talk to other prosecutors. Despite the fact that she is in a lower position than she was a few years ago, she seems to enjoy her job more. For once, she's a colleague _and_ a friend."

"At least I didn't screw that one up."

The words seemed to mark a finality to the conversation, and a weight lifted from his chest. "If you or Maya need anything—"

"We know where to find you. For the moment, just focus on Dahlia Hawthorne. There's probably more evidence than you ever wanted to deal with in that case, seeing as it's essentially four cases in one."

Edgeworth chuckled. "You have no idea, Wright."

"Get back to work. If you think _this_ is bad, think of what it'll be like if Dahlia gets a 'Not Guilty' verdict."

He shuddered. "I'd rather not." He rose, leaning over to pat Phoenix's shoulder and exited the apartment.

Phoenix watched after him with a frown appearing on his face again. Things were about to get _very_ interesting.

* * *

"Adrian?" Franziska rapped on the door with her gloved knuckles, the knocking echoing in the small alcove.

There was a crash, and then a harried, "Just a second!" from behind the door.

Nathan looked towards Franziska. "Should we—?" He was cut off by the door being thrown open, a blonde woman panting, her eyes frantic.

"Franziska! And . . . you brought a friend! C—come in!" She ushered them in, but still looked nervous as her eyes darted around her living room. "Can I get either of you anything to drink?"

"No, thank you. Is everything alright?" Franziska asked, moving to sit on the couch. Nathan followed her example, seating himself next to her.

"Alright? Everything's fine. Just . . . fine." She sat down in the armchair, holding her hand out for Nathan to shake. "I'm Adrian Andrews."

"Nathaniel Price," he said, shaking her hand, even though it had just become as limp as a fish.

She'd paled, glancing at Franziska with a betrayed expression. "I don't want anything with the Engarde case," she said in warning.

"That's not possible," Franziska reprimanded sharply. "The Defense is accusing you of framing Matt Engarde for the murder."

"B—But I didn't—"

"We know that, but the court requires your testimony before the trial can end," Nathan said, leaning over to place a hand on the hand she had resting on the arm of the chair. She pulled it away before their fingers brushed. "Miss Andrews, I'm sorry to do this, but it's going to happen one way or another. You can voluntarily testify, or Annabeth Eldredge will force you with a subpoena. She'll be asking all of the questions if this happens, and she'll grill you."

"She'll grill me anyways," Adrian said weakly. Her eyes hadn't left Franziska's.

"Adrian," the normally-cold prosecutor said slowly. There was a stern expression on her face, but it was softened with pity. "You will not be alone during this. Mr. Price is going to make sure that you are proclaimed innocent and that Engarde will be convicted again. He needs your testimony to do so."

"I—I can't!" she protested. "I just can't. I c—can't face him again!"

"Then he'll walk." The words sounded unnecessarily harsh, but from the look on Adrian's face, they were working. "And when he gets out, he'll come visit you of his own accord."

Adrian slunk back into her chair, terrified. "I—p—please!" She shook her head from side to side in distress, her glasses shattering.

"We're just trying to help you, Adrian," Nathan said, again, extending his hand. This time, she gripped it, her fingernails turning white with the effort. "I'll be there the whole time you're testifying. I won't let Engarde get away with what he did, and I won't let him get to you." He hoped he was coming off as sincere, since he really _was_ telling the truth. He might not be a fan of Phoenix Wright, but it was becoming increasingly obvious—at least with Adrian's reactions—that the man was guilty with a blood trail leading back to him.

Her lips were pressed firmly together, eyes shining with tears. There was a long moment of silence before Adrian nodded slowly. "Fine. I—I'll testify." She'd averted her eyes from Franziska's, and was suddenly very interested in the carpet. "What time?"

"Ten tomorrow is when the trial starts. I'm hoping that it'll be over shortly after that."

She nodded in understanding. "I'll be there." Her tone made it obvious that the conversation was over. "Can you see yourselves to the door?"

"Yes, thank you. I'll see you tomorrow in court, Miss Andrews." Nathan rose, and Franziska was the one this time to mimic the movement. She was silent as they exited the apartment. As soon as they'd made it down the flight of stairs and reached the car, Nathan snuck a look at the senior Prosecutor. The look on her face was severe. "Thank you," he said.

"For what?" she snapped.

"You sacrificed your friendship with her so that she would depend on me."

Franziska frowned. "I did no such thing. I merely trapped her so that she would turn to the next available person. That just so happened to be you."

"Well, whatever you did, thank you. I don't think I would have gotten her to testify without your help."

She made a noise of discontent, but slid into the driver's seat all the same. Nathan smiled at her inability to take a compliment before getting in the car and discussing the case with her.

* * *

"They didn't say one thing about you other than question your existence! Are you just gonna sit there and take that?" the woman asked, cheeks flushed in anger.

Shelly De Killer chuckled. "My dear, patience. I didn't say I wasn't going to sit here and take it. No, before the trial is over, the world will know that Shelly De Killer exists. The legacy must be carried on, after all." He took another sip from his teacup, running his hand through his hair. "Now, sit down and relax for a while. You've been working too many hours."

"A contract killer doesn't rest," she reminded him, using words he'd used with her the first few weeks into her apprenticeship.

"Ah, but you're not a contract killer until you've got a target, so you might as well rest."

She crossed the small kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. He could see the steam lazily rising from the rim, and the heavenly aroma almost made him trade in his tea for a cup. "So, what do you think? Is Engarde gonna get away with it?"

"No. I had thought of Nathaniel Price as the underdog, but it's become obvious that he's more than equipped to deal with anything Annabeth throws his way."

"He got underestimated," his apprentice said slowly. "But how? It's not like he hasn't participated in some big trials already. I mean, the Evangeline Illane case and then Elias Whitman—"

"Ah, but those are two cases that have been quiet among the community because of the group they involve. Think of Kiria Nomura's popularity, and it's the same, despite the stunning victory she pulled in the Sine Hawkins case and the would-be victory in Hermia Laytonne's case. It's a conundrum, certainly, but being underestimated isn't the worst thing for an attorney to be."

"But what about Annabeth? She's not so bad herself."

"Annabeth Eldredge will attempt to turn the case on its head, I'm guessing, by redirecting her focus at the last second. She hopes to catch Price unawares, and while it's a viable strategy, it'll fail. Price is good at thinking on his feet, as we saw in the cases he's starred in before. It might be close, but he'll pull it out in the end."

He had to suppress a smile at the look of pure admiration on her face. "How do you do that?"

"Simple observations. You'll learn to do it one day too. Once you've seen enough trials to know how they work, it'll become obvious what logical steps certain attorneys use. Each attorney has their own strategy that works for them. It rarely changes enough to cause a paradigm shift, but it does happen."

"And what do you do when that happens?"

"Be flexible and adjust."

Her lips pressed together. "And what are you going to do in this case?"

This time, the smile spread slowly across his face. "You'll see, my dear. You'll see."

* * *

"You're still nervous."

Maya turned, shadow falling across the portion of her face that the moonlight didn't touch. "I'm fine."

Phoenix wrapped her in his arms, tucking her head under his chin and placing a soft kiss on the crown of her head. "It'll all be okay. You'll be proclaimed innocent; they don't have any evidence to convict you with."

"That didn't stop them from proclaiming you guilty of forging evidence," she said quietly.

A small shock ran through his body at the memory, but he tightened his arms as if he could shield her from the unfairness he had suffered through. "That's not going to happen. Grossberg will do his job, and everything will be fine. Tomorrow night we'll be celebrating with burgers like normal."

"If you say so." She didn't sound convinced.

He pulled back, keeping his hands on her elbows so that he could look at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Nick. I'm just . . . I'm . . ."

"Spit it out."

"What if all of this has been another attempt by Aunt Morgan? What if everything we've all went through has been my fault, and she's trying to get me in jail so that Pearl can be Master? What if I'm the reason this is all happening?" Her tone was edging towards hysteria with every word she spoke.

"It's not. And even if it is, we'll get it all sorted out." This seemed too complex to be Morgan Fey, even with Dahlia Hawthorne's help, but Maya was seriously worried about this. "It's not Morgan. It's just a bad situation that happened, and we'll figure it out as we go."

"We can't keep talking around it like it didn't happen!" Her sharp tone was so out of character that he recoiled reflexively. Her eyes were still averted though, so he figured it must have been out of nerves and stress rather than anger. "Nick, someone targeted you. Someone wanted you out of the legal world enough to slander your name. And you've already been through so much because of me . . ."

The thought had occurred to him before, but now wasn't the time to discuss it. Not when Maya hadn't slept for the last few days and he was stressed out trying to keep her calm. "I promise that we'll talk about it, okay? I just want to get you out of the firing range before we do." He pulled her against him again, reassured when she relaxed. "I didn't want to worry you," he murmured.

"I was afraid that you hadn't connected the dots yet. If something else happened and you weren't ready for it . . ."

"Believe me, I figured it out a while ago. I don't know who it is or why, but if they think they can start ruining things in my personal life, they've got another thing coming." He pressed another kiss to her hair. "I'm going to be so fucking happy, it'll kill them."

* * *

**A/N: Some P/M angst-romance, written especially for Phoenix/Maya day (that I missed. What a fan I am). For the rest of the chapter, it was a difficult chapter, and I'm wrapping this trial up with the next trial sequence. There's not enough substance for another investigation sequence, so this one will be short.**

**Delay came from my moving around. Lack of normal internet connection=bad for writing. On the other hand, I'm moving into my final place until school ends in June tomorrow, so the next chapter should be up sooner rather than later. Hopefully. Thanks for understanding my delays, everyone. It can't be easy, waiting for new chapters forever.**

**As most of you have realized by this point, GS5 has been announced for the West, and some information has been released (if you haven't seen the new information, just go to Kotaku; they've got the most up-to-date for the west information). Good? Bad? I'm hoping it's not going to be a monumental disaster; from the small bits I've played of GK2, the characters are nowhere near as tight as Takumi's characters. Yamazaki's got something to prove. Of course, I'm disappointed we won't be seeing Apollo as our protagonist again; I was hoping it would be a direct sequel to AJ. Either way, it'll be interesting!**

**Reviews ::**

**FeytedintheTARDIS: You liked Edgeworth's part? Now that I look back and read it (and I'm not so biased; after writing it, I always feel like it's awful), I kind of like it as well. We'll see if we get some more updates that way. I usually like to use the 'Show, Not Tell' method, but it was different somehow. I don't know; I'll have to ponder it. D: Oh, believe me, we're going to hear a lot more about Kiria's ghost powers before the end of this. **

**Feyfangirl: Thank you! Intrigue is good; hopefully I don't disappoint!**

**OddWriter12: Ooh, shiny new nickname. I like it. D Tee hee, confused Edgeworth is fun to write, actually. As a child, I always imagine him like Luke Triton of the Professor Layton series with the inability to put a mystery down once he's heard about it. Makes for a rather stubborn child, really. I know I'm throwing all of the sad things out at once, but it'll get lighter, I promise! What you were saying about enjoying writing is possibly the best advice to give anyone. After all, I love writing this series, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten through 55 chapters already. If you don't love it, you won't commit to it and make it the best you possibly can.**

**Blaze: I hope the meeting between Adrian Andrews and our favorite Prosecutors came out okay. It wasn't how I expected it to happen, but I don't know that I can get the same result twice if I rewrite it. It may be one scene I mark to rewrite later. Sorry that the update wasn't anywhere near soon; I meant to! D:**

**KnightofDestiny: Haha, I'm glad you're so excited for it! Honestly, the crossover game is higher on my list. Especially with Takumi's advising, it's going to be downright amazing. **

**Read and review?**


	7. Turnabout Revisited: Trial 2b

**Chapter Six :: Turnabout Revisited :: Trial :: Day** **2 :: Part 1**

"Mr. Engarde." The woman strode into the Detention Center, heels clacking on the floor.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked dryly. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to get me off the hook?"

"Annabeth has worked it all out. You will receive a Not Guilty verdict by the end of the day. Ready to get out of here?"

He chuckled under his breath. "I've been in this godforsaken cell for two years now, and you ask if I'm ready to be out of here? I think it's pretty obvious."

"Indeed, I can guess." She slid into the seat across from him, petite hands clasped together. They were so delicate, thin appendages rounded out by shell pink nails. Just one good yank and they would break. "How are you feeling today?"

"Fine." He wasn't dumb. He knew she had come in here for a reason, even if she was determined to make small talk until that reason came out.

"Would you be willing to testify?"

Ah, there was the catch. The Defense needed his testimony. "Shouldn't be a problem as long as I know what I'm testifying to."

"You knew the ransom note was a fake the whole time."

"And how exactly does this help my case?"

The woman's mouth quirked up in a smirk. "Ah, isn't that the million dollar question. To make a long story very short, we figured out a way to work your case to fit out desires."

"What's the Nomura girl gonna have to do now?"

She shook her head. "Ah, it's not what she'll have to do. It's all about the things she wasn't strong enough to stop."

"What'd she do? Cause you to break a nail?"

She glared coldly. "She's become a nuisance. Nuisances have to be nipped from the bud before they become more than that. She made a few good guesses and managed to stab deeply enough already." There was a sadistic smile on her face as she looked to the right, eyes out of focus. "She'll soon find out that revenge is a bitch."

Engarde laughed, although the sound was devoid of humor. "Listen, lady. You're gonna fail. You wanna know why? Because while this Nomura chick is sitting pretty, totally relaxed, you're over here getting all worked up. There's a reason why they say revenge is best served cold."

"Perhaps." But it was obvious by the way she was still zoned out that she hadn't listened to a word he'd said.

* * *

"Day two. Let's make it the final day, shall we?"

"No need to get all passive-aggressive on me, Franziska. I'm doing the best I can under the circumstances."

Franziska chuckled. "If these are your circumstances, God help you when things actually get complicated." She cracked her whip, winding it in her hand and folding her arms over it.

"I didn't know you were religious."

"It's called an expression, Price. Don't push it."

Nathan laughed despite himself, pulling at his collar. He'd made the same mistake of wearing too many layers, again wearing a sweater over his suit combo. It had been freezing outside, which had made it nice, but inside of the courthouse, it was suddenly sweltering. "Am I committing a cardinal sin if I don't wear my suit jacket?"

"If you want to look like you're homeless, no. If you're planning on prosecuting like that, then yes," she said curtly. "Do you have no pride?" she asked when he took off the jacket.

"Are you telling me this isn't enough for the courtroom?" he asked, modeling the dark blue sweater over his white dress shirt and tie. "This is formal enough, isn't it?"

"This isn't your mock trial at university!" Franziska nearly shrieked.

"She's right, you know."

Nathan turned, flushing at the sight of Catherine and Annabeth Eldredge behind him. The younger one had spoken, arms crossed over her chest disapprovingly. Her glare wasn't as practiced as Franziska's, but that didn't make it any less frightening. "You look homeless," she explained.

"I was thinking more of a professor," Catherine said, offering up a smile.

"How do I look homeless?!" he protested.

Franziska waved her hand as if to say that it didn't matter _how_, just that he did. "Annabeth Eldredge. Catherine," she said as a means of greeting, although both were tense.

"Good morning, both of you." Catherine smiled warmly, despite the cold tone Franziska had just used.

"'Morning," Nathan said, trying to act as casual as possible after his whole clothing debacle. "Still no trials?"

She laughed. "You'd think that we were swamped with all of the cases everyone _else_ is taking, but no, still no trial for me. I swear, the Chief Prosecutor just hates me."

"Their loss," Annabeth said, shrugging.

"But, on the other hand, I do get to see my little sister's trial." She slung her arm around her sister's shoulders, nudging her forward slightly. "So I can't complain too much."

"Even Lyn's here today," Annabeth complained.

"Lyn?" Nathan asked.

"Brooklyn. Our other sister," Catherine said.

"No pressure," Nathan joked, trying to defrost the younger woman, but she merely glowered at him.

"I need to meet with my client," she said, still aloof from his advances. "Good day to you all." They watched her walk off, meeting Matt Engarde halfway.

Catherine was the first to glance back, laughing, although it was self-conscious. "Sorry about that. She doesn't mean to be rude, it's just that sometimes Annabeth has the personality of a wet noodle. She was never one to socialize when she was younger either."

"She should be thinking of herself as the opposition at this point. Her demeanor was correct," Franziska corrected her.

Catherine made a face. "Can't the Prosecution and Defense be civil to one another? We're not sworn enemies forever, you know."

"Until the verdict has been made, the Defense is still the enemy."

"I think it depends on the Defense, personally," Nathan said after a beat too long of silence. "I mean, Kiria's part of the Defense, but we still act like we're friends."

"And it shows in your prosecuting. As long as you worry about being friends, you will never make the moves necessary to present decisive evidence early on. You will never have a ten-minute trial, and instead you'll waste everyone's time beating around the bush for an obvious conclusion." Franziska's glare, which had softened slightly as she had played the mentor, was back full force. "What is one trial in comparison to many? Miles Edgeworth has branched out after the trials, but never before. Timing is everything."

"You don't really branch out," Catherine pointed out.

Franziska ignores her. "Are you ready for today?" she asks, turning to Nathan.

"Absolutely. First ten minutes, hammer at the case, and if all else fails, call Adrian to the stand. I still remember. It's not like I can forget in ten minutes."

The elder prosecutor rolled her eyes and snorted. "I wouldn't put it past you. The trial is about to start; we should get in."

"Good luck!" Catherine said, and then did the strangest thing. She leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. "Good luck," she repeated, whispering it breathily in his ear.

He could feel his head spinning as she walked away. It was like someone had put his head on a globe stand and given it a good whirl. "Nathan?" he could hear Franziska calling, but it was like she was far away. "Nathaniel Price?"

A sharp pain brought him out of the reverie, and he put his hand up to the injured shoulder. "Ouch! What was that for?!"

"Do not get distracted!"

"I'm not distracted," he said weakly, but his mind was elsewhere. "I'm not distracted at all."

* * *

"Welcome back to the retrial of Engarde vs. State of California. I see both of our attorneys are looking rested. I trust your investigations went well yesterday?"

"Exceptionally, Your Honor," Annabeth said.

Nathan nodded. "Well enough, I'd say."

"Good. Shall we start the trial?"

"The Prosecution is ready, your Honor."

"The Defense is ready."

The Judge smiled at both of them and turned to Nathan. "If the Prosecution would please give its opening statement?"

"Certainly, your Honor." Nathan cleared his throat, readjusting his tie, which felt too tight around his neck. His mind was on Catherine's lips and the soft pressure he had felt against his cheek not five minutes before. He felt the ridiculous urge to rub that cheek, to make sure it was still real, but he refrained, instead trying to turn his mind to the trial. "The Prosecution alleges that Matt Engarde was still the one who ordered Juan Corrida's death, and his sentence should remain unchanged. Contrary to what the Defense attempted to say yesterday, there is no proof that Adrian Andrews was the culprit, and should the Defense continue to accuse her, we are prepared to present evidence as to the contrary."

"Excellent. Miss Eldredge, your opening statement?"

Annabeth drew herself up to her full height, squaring her shoulders. "Firstly, I must apologize to the court yesterday for being so unprepared. It will never happen again. The Defense has changed its focus; we agree with the Prosecution that Adrian Andrews could not have been the culprit."

Nathan rolled his eyes skyward, as if asking for divine intervention. "And who are you trying to throw under the bus now?"

"Objection!" Annabeth said, turning towards the Judge.

The Judge looked at Nathan over her glasses. "Sustained. Mr. Price, you will use respect when speaking with the Defense. Now, Miss Eldredge, please continue."

"Thank you, your Honor. As I was saying, Adrian Andrews could not have been the one who ordered Juan Corrida's death, but Maya Fey could have!"

Nathan could feel his heart sink. Had everything they'd done yesterday been for naught? Besides, talk about kicking someone when they were down. Maya's world had been turned upside down lately, and now she was being accused of this too? "Objection! This is preposterous!" he tried to shout, but was drowned out by the noise from the gallery as everyone talked.

"Maya Fey? Isn't she the one that killed her sister?"

"Yeah, that one who got Redd White to take the blame for it!"

"Someone else she killed? How many does she think she can get away with?!"

"Order! Order in the court!" The Judge shouted, but the crowd was still louder than she was. "Order!"

* * *

**A/N: Okay, guys, new strategy! One, I'm going to stop saying, "This chapter should be up soon", because I think we're all realizing that it's secretly a curse. The other thing that I'm going to do is start posting shorter chapters more often. With my schoolwork, I'm having to sit down and write maybe 5-10 sentences at a time. This chapter took a month (blame the Creative Writing program; too much writing!). When breaks come around, I'm going to condense the chapters and edit them for clarity and such, but for now, you're kind of getting the unedited stuff. Again, I'm so sorry this is happening, and as soon as I can put out regular chapters again, I'll do it. Unfortunately, with 6 college classes and 20-hours of work a week, it's just not happening. So, we'll try this, and see how this works so that you guys aren't waiting forever for chapters.**

**Reviews:**

**Blaze: Unfortunately, it was as late, if not later than the last one. Again, I'm sorry and stick with me for a bit. I'm going to try to keep the quality up!**

**KnightofDestiny: Nate and Annabeth? Interesting request! We'll see what we can do. There's already a good conversation between the two going to happen at the end of the trial, but I'll try to put in some more during the trial too.**

**OddWriter12: Haha, the trial is finally here! D I'm glad you liked Franziska in the last chapter; I think it's one of my favorite things I've written her in. As for GS5 . . . you pretty much hit it on the head. I can get some nerves on Phoenix's side, but . . . I'm thinking it's going to be a trial (no pun intended) to keep it from being a disaster. But the crossover game? Now that one I'm excited about! With Takumi and Level 5 working on it, I have a feeling quality is on the top of their lists.**

**JackFalconer: I noticed that a lot of people tend to demonize Matt Engarde. It's not my intention to make him as bad as I've seen him written (he's not a demon; people like to exaggerate him like they like to exaggerate Kristoph Gavin). I'll clarify the Redd White situation in the next chapter if I get a chance (or in a few chapters, with the shorter ones; in any case, it'll be addressed. You're not the first one to ask). Haha, it's complicated if things get overturned? You're telling me! I've got to document them pretty meticulously in order to not contradict myself later. D: Yes, the conversation between Kiria and the psychologist was in Japanese (the next frame chapter will address that as well). Sorry that this isn't as good of a reply as my last one (I'll get to your PM sooner or later; I'm so sorry about the late reply), but morphology and syntax homework needs done and . . . too much! D: **

**Read and review! Especially tell me if this was enough substance to get you to read the next chapter! **


	8. Turnabout Revisited: Trial 2c

**Chapter Seven :: Turnabout Revisited :: Trial :: Day 2 :: Part 2**

Nathan sighed as the courtroom emptied, leaving only the attorneys and Judge. "Somehow I think that five-minute win is a dream of the past."

Franziska huffed. "You were far more surprised with the turn of events than you should have been." He glanced over at her, surprised at her anger. He was sure that a vein in her forehead had to be close to pulsing with the rage that seemed to be simmering beneath the surface.

His reaction was instantly defensive. "What do you mean?! You couldn't have seen that any better than I did!"

Franziska shook her head. "You knew that Annabeth Eldredge was good at manipulation. I even warned you that the case had the possibility of being deeper than you had originally thought."

"But going after Maya? There's no way we could have predicted that!" Nathan protested.

"There were only so many she had to choose from." Far from being shocked, she seemed to be almost resigned to the facts. "But _you_! You are not _thinking_! You reveal that you have evidence in your opening statement! You fail to accommodate a change in the Defense's stance! You insult the Defense without having a superior stance to your opponent! Where is your head?!"

Nathan had to concede that with the facts in front of him, she had a reason to be furious with him. He hadn't been focused on the trial; his thoughts had been with Catherine Eldredge up in the Gallery. If he was going to convict Matt Engarde again, he had to be immersed in the case. "You think this was her plan all along? Pretend to be inept and then pull out a completely different suspect at the last minute?"

"I think the possibility shouldn't be ignored." He had been afraid that she wouldn't catch up with him, that she would still be angry with the way he had been treating the case until now, but she seemed to be more concerned with winning the case than berating him at the moment. If anything, it just showed how dire the need to win this trial was.

"But that's so unfair!"

She smirked at his childishness. "Not everyone plays by the rules like you do, Price. Time to think fast. What says that Maya Fey had to be innocent?"

"She was kidnapped!"

"Which means she was missing, which gives her opportunity. Next." Her dismissal had his face falling faster than a skydiver at 1,000 feet.

"But that's blaming the victim!"

Franziska put a hand on her hip. "Are we or are we not in a court of law?" she demanded. "It's not blaming the victim if there's _evidence_."

"What evidence could there possibly be? Maya was kidnapped! She couldn't have made up some heinous scheme to kill Juan Corrida! Especially not to pin it all on a contract killer."

"Remember that according to Miss Eldredge's current theory, Shelly de Killer wasn't involved in this plot."

"Exactly! And how could she know about de Killer in order to make it look like him! This is getting ridiculous!"

"The timeline is going to be critical here. Did Maya Fey vanish before Juan Corrida was killed?"

Nathan thought for a long moment, and then shook his head. "No, it was after. According to Phoenix Wright's notes on the case, Maya took a phone call shortly after the police announced that the press conference wouldn't be taking place."

"Annabeth Eldredge is going to claim that she fled and pretended to be kidnapped by Shelly de Killer in order to escape the law."

"But there are eyewitnesses who say she was with them when he was murdered. And setting up that scene couldn't have been quick, not with the amount of evidence that would have had to have been removed from it." Nathan shook his head. "I just don't know where she's coming from with this."

"You would need to use an unbiased source in order to create her alibi. If you use Wright or her cousin, the Defense will shut it down completely."

Nathan took the case report out of his bag. "I think Wright notes that Will Powers was there."

"He was one of Wright's former clients. You would have to prove he feels no loyalty towards Maya."

"But then who? No one else was there and it's too late to get evidence from it!"

"No one? I do believe there was at least one who could testify they never saw her. Two, if I remember the case correctly."

"That's impossible! Who are you talking about?!"

Franziska laughed. "Two witnesses that you don't want to meet, in all honesty. Let's see if we can't figure out a way around them first."

Nathan nodded, a little worried about who she had in mind if even Franziska von Karma was hesitant to call them to the stand. "Well, the only other time we have to prove what happened was while she was kidnapped."

A lazy smile spread across her lips. "And someone had to have kidnapped her, right?"

"And if we prove that she was kidnapped—"

"—one of two things happen. Either she accuses Adrian Andrews—"

"—or the kidnapper confirms who the culprit really was." Nathan paused to think over this new scheme. "You know, that's great and all, but how do we get in contact with a contract killer?"

Franziska twirled a card in her hand. "Well, in any case, we won't have to look far. He's here."

* * *

"The court has reconvened for the retrial of Matt Engarde. Hopefully everyone is calm enough to watch the trial now. " At this, the Judge cast a disparaging eye at the Gallery. "If I remember correctly, Miss Eldredge was explaining to the court that Maya Fey was the culprit, not Mr. Engarde."

"That would be correct, your Honor." Annabeth cleared her throat. "Thinking of basic law principles, every guilty verdict must have three things: motive, opportunity, and decisive evidence. Looking at the evidence we have compiled, Maya Fey is the only one with all three."

"Motive?" Nathan couldn't help but question.

"Well, it is no secret that Maya Fey is a Samurai fan."

Nathan nodded slowly. "And the Nickel Samurai was the one who won the Hero of Heroes trophy that night. I don't see your point."

Annabeth smiled, although it was vindictive in nature. "The trophy was not the problematic part of this trial, if you remember correctly. It was the press conference afterwards."

"What?" Nathan cursed himself. He really had to get on this trial, or she was going to run away with it when she wasn't looking.

"If you remember, Mr. Engarde's career was about to be ruined with the reveal of the suicide note."

Nathan cocked a brow. "You're accusing someone of murder because she likes a _television show_?"

"People have been killed for less."

"Your Honor, this is preposterous!" he pleaded.

The Judge readjusted her glasses. "I would not say that it is a strong accusation, but the possibility has been raised. I presume you have proof for this accusation, Miss Eldredge?"

"I do." She raised her hand, dipping it low in what he realized was an imitation of Edgeworth's bow. "The Defense would like to call Will Powers to the stand."

* * *

Will Powers, it seemed had not changed significantly since the case file had been written. In Edgeworth's report, he had described the man as large, but timid. Seeing him practically cowering on the witness stand had Nathan agreeing with the description Despite the physique, it was obvious Powers could never hurt a fly. "Witness, please state your name and occupation."

"Will Powers. I, uh, I'm between jobs. But that doesn't mean I killed him!"

Nathan could have sworn that the entire courtroom had the same nonplussed expressions on their faces as he did. "I'm sorry sir, but what?"

"I didn't kill him!"

"Kill who?"

Powers shook his head. "Anyone!"

Nathan glanced around. "I didn't think you did. I believe you were called to testify."

"O—Oh. Sorry about that." Powers scratched the back of his head, and Nathan fought the urge to groan. Had Annabeth not prepared the witness? If not, this was going to be one _very_ trying testimony.

"Mr. Powers, the court would like you to testify about Maya Fey's obsession with the Steel Samurai series and its spinoffs," Annabeth said.

Powers pulled back, looking around at all of them. "M—Maya's not in trouble, is she?"

"Your testimony, please," Nathan said.

Powers cleared his throat before beginning. He had a slow, deep voice that was almost soporific if used in the right context. But Nathan knew he couldn't fall asleep. There was no Franziska beside him; he would need to be firing on all pistons to catch what Annabeth was trying to pull.

"I've known Maya Fey since she and Mr. Wright defended me four years ago against murder charges. Mr. Wright told me later that the only reason why he took my case was that Maya insisted that I was innocent because I was the Steel Samurai. And then, when the Hero of Heroes award was given to Matt Engarde, she was thrilled. I guess I'm trying to say that she's a huge fan of the series. I don't really see what this would have to do with anything though . . ."

Nathan blinked. From what he could tell, there had been no decisive testimony. However, Annabeth was nodding like he had just revealed the most important part of her case. "As the court can tell from this testimony," she said, arms crossed over her chest, "Maya Fey was a large enough Samurai fan to do ridiculous things for the fandom."

"Objection!" Nathan shouted. "That's an exaggeration of the testimony we were just given!"

"Objection! The witness just revealed that Miss Fey was biased enough in her judgment to take a case because of it!"

"And what does that prove?!" Nathan asked. "If you remember the timeline correctly, it was early in Mr. Wright's career. It is more than likely that they had no other cases!"

Annabeth shook her head. "And give me proof of that!"

"As you were the one to call the witness, it is your burden to prove that it was a lapse in judgment!"

The Judge banged the gavel against the block. "Order! Miss Eldredge, I fail to see where you are going with your line of reasoning as well. You either need to make your point or I will make my ruling based on the evidence I have."

Annabeth's mouth slipped into an annoyed pout. "Fine! I have other evidence of this as well! The Defense would like to call Matt Engarde to the stand!"

* * *

**A/N: We're in Finals Week! As my term ends this week, the next chapter will be coming up as soon as I have a chance to type it up (unfortunately, the app I have on my phone that I've been writing on doesn't have a desktop application), and we'll have the dreaded Engarde testimony!**

**Again, sorry for the wait, guys. I did a screenplay for class that was ridiculously hard to do because I had never written a screenplay before. It was also 50 pages long, so . . . it was a time sucker.**

**A friend also convinced me to do a "25 Days of Fanfiction" for the PW fandom until Christmas, so keep an eye out for that! First installment should be out later tonight!**

**Oh, and keep pointing out errors! They're not being fixed immediately, but they are all being added to my "to do" list for a quiet moment!**

**Reviews!**

**Psykit: Welcome back, darling! This case has been exhausting, to say the least. Cross-referencing everything from previous cases and not actually remembering the case myself (I went back and read the game script during this break) has lead to a VERY confusing thing for the writer, so I can't even imagine what the reader is feeling. This case is being wrapped up as quickly as possible, and the next trial will be back to normal, with Kiria in the star role. I actually miss writing as her; she's a lot easier to write for me. But yes, I do love real comments; don't sugarcoat it! And yessss, you need to write again! I wanna read another one by you!**

**Jack Falconer: I guess I hadn't realized how much poor Maya is dragged through the mud until I realized just how many cases she would be prosecuted in . . . now I feel bad. But I've got to wrap this trial sequence up before I tell anyone what's going on outside of it. God, why did I ever write this case? D: Oh, yes, the psychologist visit and translation is a bit of a literary trick, but it's going to be explained in the next Apollo scene. **

**OddWriter12: All I've gotta say is that Takumi's kept us waiting for long enough that the crossover game had better be spectacular. But, then again, from the two directors, I would expect nothing less. I'll try to keep the chapters long enough to have some sort of substance in them (this one has a really weird ending, so I'll get the next installation up ASAP). Awww, only equations? I will say, being a creative writing minor, I do get plenty of writing experience. Haha, you're not the only one to comment on my Maya-abuse. I feel bad about it nowwwww. D:**

**Blaze: Haha, my workload is getting ridiculous, but the worst thing is that I have chapters written, but no time to transfer them from the phone to the computer so that I can format the chapter. D: As I said before, the next one is already written, it just needs time for me to sit down and put it up.**

**FeytedintheTARDIS: Oh, don't worry about missing a chapter! I am well aware that sometimes FF fails to notify, or that sometimes you just miss a chapter (I know I do from my favorite series and then I'm reading the newest chapter and going, "What . . . ?"). It's just nice to see you back for this one! I think you're the only one who has commented on the Trucy/Edgeworth relationship, and I'm glad you liked it! It's interesting to write the two of them, because, like many characters in the series, Trucy and Edgeworth have never met. And Edgeworth gives no indication with how he is with children . . . I agonized about that. But I really am glad you liked it!**

**Read and Review?**


	9. Turnabout Revisited: Trial 2d

**Chapter 8 :: Turnabout Revisited :: Trial :: Day 2 :: Part 3**

_'This is it,'_ Nathan realized as the defendant took the stand. _'This is where it counts. Matt Engarde confessed last time, so Annabeth has to compensate for that. If she fails here, her entire case crumbles.'_.

Of course, that being said, Engarde looked like he barely knew he was in a courtroom. His gaze wandered as he stood at the the front of the courtroom. "Is that new moulding?" he asked.

"What?" Nathan asked, caught off guard.

"The crown moulding . . . it looks new."

Like he had a clue. "It may be new, Mr. Engarde, but you were called here to testify, not talk about the architecture." The statement came out far sharper than he had intended it, and he was surprised he hadn't been reprimanded for his tone yet.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Mr. Price, I believe we can skip the preliminary questions, don't you? After all, the court is very aware of what my client has been doing for the last few years."

Oh no, he wasn't budging an inch. "The court still needs to know that Mr. Engarde is who he says he is."

"I must agree with the opposition, Ms. Eldredge," the Judge said. "The fact that Mr. Engarde is the defendant in this case means little when swearing him into the court. Mr. Price, please proceed."

He sighed an internal sigh of relief. This was going better than he'd hoped. "Defendant, please state your name and occupation."

"No need to be so serious, dude. I'm Matt Engarde, inmate. Take a chill pill."

Annabeth took over before Nathan could reply. "Please testify to the court about the night that Mr. Corrida died."

Engarde paused only for a moment before beginning his testimony. "Juan and I were rivals, you know, but I'd never kill him. In fact, that night, I even gave him a stuffed bear, just for good luck. But that night, when I went to give it to him, this hippy chick intercepted me, saying she wanted an autograph. I put down the bear to sign the napkin she gave me, and didn't think anything of it. But then, during the trial, they said there was a listening device in there. I didn't put it in there, I swear."

Nathan was almost too afraid to ask for details, but Annabeth seemed to have that covered, as she was the Defense. "What did this 'hippie chick' look like?"

"Weird clothing, you know. White robe, purple overcoat, blue sash. Way out of place."

Annabeth placed a photo of Maya in front of him. "Does this look like her?"

Recognition lit in his face. "Yeah, that was her!"

Nathan groaned. If there was anything distinctive about Maya, it was certainly her clothing. "Her cousin was dressed in the same thing," he reminded the court, although it was half-hearted. There was no way anyone could have mistaken Pearl for Maya, not with that hairstyle.

"Nah, I met her cousin. The little kid, right? Or the one with the huge rack?" When no one answered, he shrugged. "Either way, it was definitely her."

This didn't look good, Nathan reflected. He'd been confident at the beginning of the cross-examination, but it was crunch time for him as well, and if he couldn't find an objection in Engarde's testimony now, it was all over. He racked his brain for any detail he could have overlooked, but he was coming up short. '_Dammit!'_ Franziska's search for Shelly de Killer would all be for naught. Not to mention, of course, that Matt Engarde would be back on the street.

Suddenly, everything slowed. It was just like three months before, when he had been stuck on the Kiria Nomura/Hermia Laytonne case. This time wasn't as frightening, seeing as he had a fairly good idea of what was happening.

_"Trance State initiated."_

Who was that voice? He tried to rack his brain as to who it sounded like before mentally slapping himself. What did it matter who the voice in his head sounded like? What was important was that it would hopefully feed him information that would turn this case on its head!

The case might still be salvaged.

Like the last time, the voices naturally floated into his head uninvited, but seeing as they'd helped, he wasn't about to complain.

_"So, uh, what's with the getup?" This was his own voice, which he distinctly remembered from the first time Kiria had introduced him to Maya and Phoenix. He'd taken one look at Maya's clothing before going over to Kiria for intervention._

_"Getup?" Maya had asked almost innocently, as if no one had ever asked her the question before._

_"You know, the Samurai shirt and the beads and such."_

_Kiria opened her mouth-most likely to correct what he had called a Samurai shirt-but Maya stepped in before she could speak. "I'm a spirit medium!" Kiria nodded in affirmation when he'd looked over to confirm._

_"But why the weird clothes?"_

_"You can't just ask someone that!" Kiria reproached, smacking his arm._

_"They all mean something, you know. All of the colors," Maya explained._

_Kiria even stilled. "They do?" she asked._

_Maya nodded. "The purple is for the souls who have passed on, white for the purity of the vessel, and red for the blood that runs through our veins. It's an inherited skill," she explained, tacking on the last part as an afterthought._

_"That's red?" he'd asked. "Seems more magenta to me."_

_She had put her hands on her hips. "Hey, I'm not the one who does the dyeing. Honestly, I think Mystic Elise's eyes are going out."_

He was expecting more, but the voices stopped, leaving him confused. What was he supposed to do with _that_ information? What did it matter that the colors of the spirit medium garb meant something?

Realization hit him like a freight train going ninety miles an hour. It wasn't the meanings, but the colors! What had Engarde said? As he tried to remember, the voices dutifully recited it back to him: _"Purple overcoat, white robe, blue sash."_

Maya's sash wasn't blue.

_"Trance state complete."_

Everything restarted around him, Annabeth stating what Engarde's testimony meant to her case. "Objection!" he interrupted, throwing his pointer finger out for good measure. Everyone whipped around to look at him. "Mr. Engarde, would you mind describing our culprit's clothing for the court once more?"

"Sure. Purple coat, white robe, blue sash. Is that thing called a sash?" He mused over that, unaware that a slow smile was easing itself over Nathan's face.

"Mr. Engarde, I think you just dug your own grave."

"Huh?"

"After all, there's no way that it was Maya Fey you saw that night, if you saw anyone!"

"What's the meaning of this?" Annabeth asked, although her tone was strange. It was almost like she was bored of it, and just wanted to get all of this over with.

"Mr. Engarde was close when he described Miss Fey's clothing. Unfortunately for him, the outfit is so outrageous that it would be impossible to mistake anything about it—including the magenta sash!"

There was no surprise in Engarde's reaction. He tilted his face to the side, eyes floating to the ceiling. "Huh. Was it magenta?"

"What do you mean, 'was it magenta'? And shouldn't you be a little more, uh, concerned?" The lack of emotion in both the Defense and Defendant were making him feel a little uneasy.

"Why be concerned? I told you, dude, I'm innocent." Engarde flipped his hair a little, the epitome of calm.

There was something very strange in the way this was playing out. Dread was starting to curl in his belly as Annabeth asked, "How do you know what Miss Fey was wearing that night?"

Shit. He might have come to a conclusion, but that didn't mean he had any evidence for it! "I've had the pleasure of getting to know Miss Fey," he said slowly, making it up as he went, "and her clothing choice never changes."

He could hear the irritated sign coming from directly behind him. It was a very Franziska-esque sound. "You'll have to do better than that, Price," he could imagine her saying. His inner voice wanted to snark back, _'And you're supposed to be trying to find de Killer, not watching the trial!'_

Before Annabeth pounced on his weak statement, he cleared his throat and continued with, "Of course, we can always call a witness to confirm if it's not included in the police file."

Annabeth opened the file in front of her. "We won't have to go far to get it." She handed it to the Judge, who looked it over momentarily before making a clicking noise with her tongue.

"It seems as thought Mr. Engarde was correct."

"I knew it! Time to tell the—what?!" Nathan choked, feeling the blood rush to his head as he realized what the Judge had said.

She handed him the file. "I'm sorry, Mr. Price, but that sash is undoubtedly blue."

* * *

**A/N: So sorry for the delay, guys. This chapter has been done forever and just hadn't had the chance to be typed up yet. The downfall of writing fanfiction on your phone. D:**

**A bit of a short chapter, but it's a good transition point, and I hope enough action happened for you all to be happy.**

**My brain is honestly fried right now; I have no clue what to say about this chapter other than Engarde is super fun to write. Thanks to everyone who read the oneshot collection over the holidays as well! Sorry for the lacking responses to reviews as well. I need sleep . . . **

**Reviews ::**

**OddWriter12 :: Haha, I'm just not looking forward to GS5 coming in because it pretty much will ruin what I have planned for this and make it AU. But I suppose that's not too bad. And you'll just have to wait and see about the card. **

**Blaze :: Glad you get so excited for them! I get the same way with some fanfictions I follow. Oh, you did like Franziska picking apart the arguments? I was worried it was a bit harsh, but I figured that a good teacher does that, so . . . **

**Feyfangirl :: Thank you, my dear! **

**FeytedintheTARDIS :: I don't hate Maya, I promiseeeee. Even if that's what it looks like. I'm trying to end this case strong, because I'm never doing another retrial. Again. If anyone ever tells you they're easy to write, kick them in the shins and call them a liar. D: Ah, do you need me to do more art for the next story cover? You can start it whenever, and I'll post it up! **

**Jack Falconer :: Thanks for the recommendation! I've got the next few trials planned (I'm cheating and only doing 3 in this installment), but I'll definitely keep it in mind for when we're at Part 3 and I'm going "Uh, what haven't I done yet?"**

**KnightofDestiny :: No problem. I've found I haven't had a lot of time for Fanfiction either, but I'm glad to see you back!**

**Read and review? And maybe I'll get some sleep for the next chapter . . .**

**EDIT :: Sash color has been changed and single dashes have been changed to em dashes. 4.2.13**


	10. Turnabout Revisited: Trial 2e

**Turnabout Revisited :: Trial :: Day 2 :: Part 4 [Final]**

Nathan stared at the police report incredulously, reality beginning to crash down on him. "The sash is . . . blue?" he murmured, confused. Maya's sash couldn't have been blue! It was never blue!

What in the world was going on with this retrial?

A small part of him started thinking about the rumors surrounding Annabeth Eldredge. Forged evidence? Was it possible? And, even if she had forged it, could he prove it?

A quick look through his evidence cleared that one up. It was an obvious no. He couldn't prove what color Maya's sash had been on the day of the murder. He would have to attack Engarde's testimony another way.

He racked his brain again, still taken off-guard by the way the last point had gone. There was only so many times he could completely blow it like that before the Judge proclaimed Engarde's innocence. He needed a really good point to counteract the effects of the last one.

What was it that Engarde had said? In general, Maya had approached him for an autograph while he had been delivering the bear to Corrida's room. When he had signed the napkin she'd offered, she had placed the listening device in there.

Inspiration struck.

"The color of the sash is unimportant when you think of the logistics, your Honor," he said, trying to remedy and attack at the same time. "After all, I must ask Mr. Engarde how long it takes him to sign an autograph."

"What?" Engarde asked. It was the first indication that something had shaken him, and Nathan could see that the dumb actor persona was just that: a persona. A vein appeared right at the edge of his temple, just for a moment, but Nathan had the feeling he had uncovered something important.

"How long does it take you to write an autograph? In fact," he paused as he rifled through his briefcase, "I think I have a piece of paper and pen right here. Would you mind signing this for the court?"

"Dude, if you wanted an autograph, you could have just asked," Engarde said, but it was lacking conviction. The bailiff ran the paper and pen from the prosecution's stand over to the Defendant's stand, and it was with a shaking hand that he signed his name.

Nathan did a very dramatic check of his watch. "Wow. Three seconds. That's a pretty long signature. Of course, it would take far longer to open up a stuffed bear, plant a listening device, and sew it back up, wouldn't it?"

Engarde blanched. Annabeth gulped, her eyes wide. As he could imagine, there was really no good argument that she could make for him. _Good ol' logistics: they never fail, _he thought fondly.

He could see Maya and Phoenix filter into the courtroom out of the corner of his eye, both grinning widely, and some of the tension released from his shoulders. The Mia Fey case had been far stronger than the Engarde case, and if Lana Skye could still get the young spirit medium proclaimed innocent, then he could do it too.

The lengthy silence that was now dragging on in the courtroom was finally interrupted by Annabeth, who seemed irritated at her client's lack of explanation. "How do you explain this card then?" She held up one of the evidence bags, a single card with a pink shell and the drawing of a man with very spiky hair on it. He could hear a gasp, but chuckled at the way she was now grasping at straws.

"Ms. Eldredge, it's easy enough to understand. After all, if Shelly de Killer had kidnapped Miss Fey, she could certainly have found a card somewhere. After all, cards have an interesting way of showing up in all the places you need them." He shuffled his papers around, stopping suddenly when he found a pink shell card in his own papers. "And, incidentally, seeing as I have a card as well, does that make _me_ de Killer? Because we can run through my alibi as well; I'm fairly sure mine is pretty watertight."

She was flushed, and Engarde's jaw was locked tightly. Finally, victory was at his fingertips.

"The killer could not have been Maya Fey nor Adrian Andrews, as the Defense predicted! Only Matt Engarde could have done everything that happened in the case, with the help of the serial killer Shelly de Killer. Only Matt Engarde could have planted the listening device in the bear, and only the serial killer had the opportunity to kill Juan Corrida!"

"Then present Shelly de Killer!" Annabeth countered.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Sure, if you'll join the taskforce to find him with me, Miss Eldredge. Shelly de Killer has never been caught by the authorities, despite their best efforts."

The Judge banged her gavel against the block. "I don't believe it's necessary to present the serial killer, Miss Eldredge. Mr. Price has presented strong counterarguments to all of your suspects. I believe I'm ready to declare my verdict."

The relief was rising to the top of Nathan's head, making him heady. It was finally over, and despite the close calls, he had won his first retrial.

"For the case of Engarde v. State of California, I declare Matt Engarde to be guilty. Previous sentencing will still be in effect, to be carried out as of this moment, 12:43 PM, November 15th. Court is adjourned." The judge banged her gavel, making the verdict official, and the courtroom dissolved in cheers. Nathan exhaled in relief, leaning against the Prosecutor's bench with his head cradled in his hands. Justice had been served. Adrian Andrews would never have to testify against this man again. Maya was safe. All of the worries that had been just under the surface of this case suddenly vanished. He took a moment to breathe, and to relish the feeling of a clear chest, same as he did after every case.

* * *

"As great as this verdict is, I can't shake the feeling that it wasn't exactly earned." Nathan sighed, looking up at the bright fluorescent light of the lobby. Now that the high of his win had worn off, there was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he processed the whole trial.

Franziska nodded her agreement. "Indeed. After all, you barely proved anything. The only thing you had to prove was that Maya Fey could not have done it when Matt Engarde claimed she had."

"It surprised me that Annabeth didn't fight back more at that point. I mean, I see where Engarde couldn't have kept fighting back. But even his initial problem was a logistical issue, and could be easily proven."

"This was not a case that resolved itself with any sort of finality. The initial problem of proving Shelly de Killer existed was not even resolved."

He nodded, scuffing his shoe against the floor of the courthouse. "I know that there can't be another retrial, but still, I don't want to even imagine the idea that this might come back to haunt us later."

"Well, we know one thing," she said, taking the shell card from her purse. "We know that Shelly de Killer does exist."

"And we know that he was here today." Nathan gave an emphatic sigh. "But that's it. Well, I suppose that's that." He paused, catching a glimpse of Annabeth Eldredge in the corner of his eye. Her face was flushed, hair disheveled, eyes wild in a rare display of emotion. He was just about to mention it to Franziska when the defense attorney stomped up to them, one finger stabbing into his chest.

"I suppose you think you're so smart, don't you? Oh, 'justice is served', good won out over evil, right? Right? But you never stop and wonder _why_."

"What?" he tried to stutter out, but she talked over him instead.

"Why did Matt Engarde go for a retrial? Why did Elias Whitman poison Kiria Nomura? Why did Phoenix Wright have to lose his badge? The clues are all there, but the motives don't matter to you, do they?" She seemed to be getting more irate as she went on. "And you fail to question the most important things! What else is she hiding? What more—"

"Annabeth." Catherine seemed to come out of nowhere, but she immediately commanded the situation, pulling on her sister's arm and forcing her to step back from Nathan. "Forgive my sister; she doesn't lose well. Congratulations, Nathan." She graced him with a smile, but it was fleeting, and disappeared as soon as she turned her attention back to Annabeth. "Come on."

All of the fight seemed to have fallen out of the youngest Eldredge. The only sign of her anger left were two spots of red, high in her cheeks, which seemed unnaturally bright as she nodded and allowed her older sister to take her away.

"That was strange," Nathan said after almost a full minute had passed since they had disappeared. He turned to Franziska, surprise written on his features. "You didn't step in."

She shook her head. "It was hardly my place. Besides, did you listen to what she was saying?"

"About motives?"

Franziska nodded. "I think that we may have just walked into something that is trying very hard to be covered up."

Nathan tried to shake the chill inching up his spine at her words, but it was persistent, lingering over the bones. "How big do you think it is?"

"The retrial, the poisoning, and Wright's disbarring . . . it's elaborate." Franziska tapped her lower lip in a rare showing of deep thought. "We will have to look into this."

He merely nodded and clutched his briefcase a little tighter. "Lunch before hitting the old case files?" he offered.

She nodded curtly. "I will accept your compensation for assistance during this case, yes."

"That wasn't what it—hey, wait!" he shouted as she started walking towards the parking garage.

* * *

Adrian Andrews glanced over her right shoulder as she approached the door to her apartment. Yes, Matt Engarde had just been given a guilty verdict, but prison didn't always protect people, and Engarde seemed to be one who made friends easily.

"Get yourself together, Adrian," she chided herself. "What is he going to do to you now?" Her nightmares the night before hadn't helped the paranoia. Just the visit from Franziska and the other lawyer had made some unpleasant memories resurface, and she'd slept badly, remembering everything that she had once run from years before.

She fished her keys from her purse and stuck the correct one in the lock, expecting to hear the proper _chink_ as the lock disengaged, but it was silent. She froze, her hand on the handle, trying to recall whether she had locked the door that morning. Yes, she certainly had, as she'd had to lock it twice after having to get back in her apartment for the witness paperwork she had left behind. She remembered fighting to lock the door as she held the papers straight to keep them from creasing.

She was the only one with a key, save her apartment manager. Perhaps it was maintenance, finally fixing that damned stove she'd entered a repair request for. Yes, that had to be it; there was no other logical explanation.

She turned the handle, throwing the door back on the off chance that someone was inside and standing right there, ready to get out just as she was entering. The door swung, hitting the wall with a loud thud, but everything else seemed undisturbed. There was nothing missing that she noticed, and even the cup of coffee she'd left out that morning was still on the table, the ring only where the mug had sat for the last five hours.

"Hello?" she called, creeping farther into the apartment.

Her bedroom was clear, as well as her bathroom. It wasn't until she got near the kitchen that she heard a noise. Adrian swung behind the wall, heart racing, eyes straying skyward in a silent plea. Someone was in there. Someone who could be trying to kill her. Was it one of Engarde's associates? Was he trying to silence her? Had he seen her during the trial that day?

There was a vase of fake flowers on the side table in the hall, and she grabbed it, hoping that the opalescent pebbles in the base would weigh it down enough to be a sufficient weapon. She moved towards the kitchen now, trying to cushion her footsteps to make as little sound as possible, wanting the element of surprise above all else.

Just two more steps and she would be facing whoever had broken into her apartment. She took the first, holding her breath in suspense, sidling up against the wall, saying another silent prayer, before taking the second step, swinging through the door with the vase brandished like it was a club. "Who are you?" she demanded.

The person turned, and Adrian dropped the vase, the pebbles skittering across the floor.

"Celeste?"

* * *

"I'm still in jail."

The woman nodded, her nails tapping against the tabletop of the detention center impatiently. "Indeed."

"This wasn't the deal."

The corner of her lips turned up. "Ah, but you don't get it, do you? You've outlived your usefulness, Mr. Engarde."

"How?" he snarled, standing.

"Your retrial didn't cause Shelly de Killer to turn up. Perhaps he doesn't care about you after all. Pity. It might have saved that verdict in there."

He paused. "I thought this was about Phoenix Wright."

"That's what I allowed you to think, yes."

"Was it ever about Wright?"

She shook her head. "Yes and no. Directly? No, obviously not. What could have you done that might benefit us? Sure, you could have messed with Wright's head a little. But that would have been ridiculously small compared to what Shelly de Killer could have done."

"You think you're gonna get him working with you? Yeah, right. You'll have a better time trying to get a statue to work with you. He's an honorable assassin, through and through. And that was my downfall."

She shook her head and laughed. "Oh, dear, you really don't get it! Shelly de Killer has taken on an apprentice, and if we take out the apprentice . . . well, there's an assassin's assistant out of commission, and it won't take long to eliminate the real threat either."

Engarde narrowed his eyes. "What threat does he pose to you?"

"A possibility, Mr. Engarde. A possibility." Without another word or another look, she strolled out of the room.

He lunged at the door, slamming against it with his fists. "This wasn't the deal! You can't just—you can't!"

Security sedated him four minutes later.

* * *

"I thought you were going to make an appearance." The woman stood before de Killer, hands propped on her hips. "I mean, yesterday you were all about 'carrying on the legacy' and 'making sure the whole world knew Shelly de Killer existed'! What gives?"

"A detail came to my attention that required the utmost delicacy. Had I not handled it that way, one of us might be dead."

"Huh?!" Her eyes widened, and he took comfort in the familiar emotional relationship. He was the mentor; he should have had his eyes open the whole time for such a thing. Then again, he had grown accustomed to hiding from the _police_, not whoever had suddenly taken an interest in the name. "What do you mean?"

"Have a cup of tea," he said, motioning towards the teapot.

"Not until you explain what's going on." She took a seat across from him at the table, leaning towards him in an unconscious effort to absorb every bit of information he was about to release. "What do you mean that one of us might have died?"

"The point of the trial was not to prove Engarde's innocence. After all, it would have been near impossible to come up with a sufficient cover story, even having denied my existence. Instead, it was meant for Price to eventually have to tip his hand and present the fabled assassin that had killed Juan Corrida. That was the use of Annabeth Eldredge's sudden change in tactic. The first day was meant for Price to put all of his cards on the table, and had he known that I was watching the trial, he undoubtedly would have presented me as a witness, and I would have testified. However, I refrained, being suspicious of the tactics and motives.

"The change in focus from Adrian Andrews to Maya Fey was merely a ruse to get Price caught off guard. He could have finished the trial in minutes had Eldredge kept on the same line of questioning. By changing the suspect at the last minute, Eldredge could keep pressing Price for the details he knew of me, while still keeping in the farce of a trial. I will admit being caught off guard by the tactic, but I needed to persuade Price that there was still a way out. It was a sleight of hand that allowed me to slip Franziska von Karma the card during the recess."

"Why do that?"

He nodded at the validity of her question, a bit of pride welling up in him. "Price needed an affirmation that something was on his side, and that if he proved Eldredge's claims false, he could still fall back on the question of my existence."

She was silent for a long moment. "Why are they trying to find you?"

Shelly de Killer shook his head. "That, I do not know. But what I do know is that their intentions are unlikely to be of the honorable kind, and we need to take extra precautions in the coming weeks to make sure we do not get found out."

"I'll be careful." He could see the gears whirring inside of her head. "Why not use the same way Engarde found you?"

"They wouldn't pass the screening."

"Then that eliminates a good amount of people, right?"

He stood, patting her head affectionately before picking up his mug and walking to the teapot. "Not as many as you might think, my dear."

* * *

**A/N :: Sorry for the lateness of the chapter; I was hoping to have two up this week, but I ended up rewriting this one instead because I didn't like how it went. Hopefully this chapter makes up for the last few. Did anyone guess it? I was a little worried about boring my readers before getting to this chapter, but I figured it was worth waiting for, so here's to hoping!**

**Many of you pointed out the discrepancy on the sash (it's not quite red; it's more of a magenta or purple), and I'll be fixing that in the next few weeks, have no fear. Thank you for pointing it out!**

**I'm hoping to post more this term; I'm taking less classes, so here's to more writing time? Hopefully?**

**And a very Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it. And Happy April Fools Day to those who are already at tomorrow!**

**Reviews ::**

**Blaze :: Yay for more Trance Mode! Awwwww, you make me blush. c:**

**Jack Falconer :: Yeah, absolutely! Please, send me more recommendations in the future; I am not above taking assistance! Yep, there are quite a few unexplainable powers that come into effect here (and there's technically Edgeworth's Logic, but I never found that overly . . . how do you say, power related?), but I'm glad you like them! Not all of them are going to crop up very often; Phoenix is done for a while, and Apollo and Trucy aren't going to come in until much later. You'll just have to see if there are any more!**

**FeytedintheTARDIS :: I've started the art; I'm in the process of coloring it. No worries about the wait on the review! Take your time! I'm in no rush.**

**KnightofDestiny :: Some mysteries are better left unsolved?**

**Read and Review?**


	11. Author's Note

To all of my lovely readers,

If you're worried that I'm about to put this fic on hiatus, breathe easy; no such problems here. That being said, I do want to explain why there hasn't been an update in quite a while now.

Over the last month, I've been feeling my throat tighten, to the point where I have problems swallowing and breathing. After going to the doctor a few times and a few tests, I found that it was nothing as serious as they were touting: it's just stress. That being said, it is interfering with my day-to-day life, and therefore, some of my current practices are having to change. One is that I'm having to get a full 7 hours of sleep, which severely cuts down my writing time. As a result, I haven't had much of a chance to write the next chapter (or even the next few, as I like to plan).

I am so sorry about this development, and I expect that I'll have much more time to write when the term ends in three weeks and I go into working full time again for a few months. In the mean time, I'll try to keep my brain working on the chapters so that I have lots to write about when I get the time!

Again, I'm sorry, and if I could change this, I certainly would, but until my stress levels come down once again, I'm going to stick to the doctor's regimen.

I hope you all are doing very well, and I'll get back to all of your comments as soon as I can.

With love,  
Mel


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